Another Day Already?
The alarm clock rang and I turned to it in disbelief. Why did the weekend have to go so fast? I had to make the decision, the first one of the new week. Do I hit the snooze button or do I just get up and face the day? I decide to do the right thing and I turn off my alarm clock and I got out from beneath the cozy warmth of the blankets and soft bed. Half awake, I head outside to retrieve the newspaper. There it is; the opening of the day of opportunity.
The morning routine begins. On that morning, the pre-work routine ends when I have completed all my tasks and grab my truck keys and head out the door toward my company truck. I never know what each day will bring to my work life, but on most mornings I don’t look very optimistically at the adventure. It’s just another day and hopefully there won’t be too much going on to discourage my happiness. Anyway, I can’t wait to get home to dinner.
Like any other day, it is not a day when anyone plans to be a hero. It’s just another step closer to retirement. The phone rings and I see that it is my wife. In the summer time it is not all that unusual for her to call me, so I answer it thinking she is going to ask me if I have any ideas what I wanted for dinner. Instead, I hear a distressed, broken voice. My heart stops and I ask, “What’s wrong?” I can hear the sadness in her voice, “It’s my sister.” “Your sister? What’s happened to your sister?” I reply. “She found out she has cancer,” she softly says through her tears. I’m speechless. What do you say?
Rarely do you walk down the street and find incredible people. No, incredible people are found in those dark situations where there is not a light to be found. Something inside them breaks out and the evil influences of the world seem only to strengthen their resolve to defeat its threats. It is not in the soft, cool moonlit nights they reside; it is in the scorching heat of the desert where their footprints can be found. They rise above their situation. And there, through the keyhole, their light beams and before you know it the whole room shines brightly.
One of those incredible people is my sister-in-law. I’m sure the cancer shocked her, yet she kept a strong front as she faced the heartbreaking news. There are probably moments where she gets discouraged, but they don’t last very long with her. When others tend to worry, she reverses the tables and encourages them. The outpouring of well-wishers is only a reflection of the love she shares with others. She is positive. She is strong. She is such an inspiration of courage like I have never seen. Incredible is the only word I know that perfectly describes her.
It was October 23rd. It was a Thursday. It was probably just like any other day. People woke up and went to work. Farmers were probably in their fields plowing their lands at the end of another harvest. The economy was doing real good. Unemployment was at only 3%. Many people had extra money to spend so they turned to speculation.
From our very beginnings, speculation has always had the interest to most Americans. From our earliest days people have speculated in land, in housing, in banks, in gold and silver, in stocks and in a host of other things. The strange thing is that most speculation seems to happen when we are doing pretty well and we just seem to want a little bit more. When we aren’t doing so well, the paycheck, if there is one, is lucky just to cover all the expenses. We can’t afford to take chances. We have bills to pay.
When times are good we think they will never end. It’s only after a crash that you hear things like having a rainy day fund or storing away a little for when times aren’t so good. The problem with that is there are very little extra funds to go around once things have crashed. By the time things pick up again, and there is a little extra in the paycheck, we have forgotten all about that rainy day fund. No, there are bigger houses to look at, boats to buy, restaurants to try and the wish list never ends.
Good times were the rage and we just knew they would never end. Yes, October 23rd was just another day with nothing to fear. The rooster crowed and we debated whether to throw a rock at it or just get up. We arose from our soft cozy beds and started another day.
It was a very dark forest. Walking alone through it was very scary. If you took one step off the path you would probably never find that path again. You hear something in the woods. “What was that?” you wonder. Your pace picks up. This isn’t the short cut you planned, but you just couldn’t turn back. There’s that noise again. You’re scared. “Stay on the path. Stay on the path,” you keep repeating to yourself. Wait. What is that big dark glob on the path straight ahead? You’re scared, so you duck behind a tree. “Oh, no, I think it is coming toward me,” becomes your fear. You dart deeper into the woods. It’s all over now. Even if daylight comes, you will never find your way out of here.
You fall to the ground. You can feel your heart racing. You don’t know what to do. Maybe that long well-lit route would have been a better pathway. It doesn’t matter now, there is no way out of this self-created mess you’ve created. Hope has been replaced with despair.
Wait, what is that you see? It’s a small light. No. No, it can’t be. Wait, it’s getting closer. How can anyone know you’re here? You’ve been as quiet as you can be. Before you know it a brilliant light is shining brightly in your face. A hand reaches out to lift you up. “Hey, you, take the flashlight and head in that direction and freedom will be yours when you turn the bend,” the bold voice echoes. “Where are you going?” you ask the stranger. “I’m going into the forest to defeat this darkness once and for all,” is His reply. “Why don’t you just come with me?” you say to Him. “That’s not what I came for,” he says as He travels into the darkness.
Each one of us faces that darkness. There is no way out. We have no hope. Nothing we can do will lead to our escape. That darkness is sin. Our hero, sent to defeat it, is Jesus. He took our place in that dark forest.
The roaring 1920s were good times indeed. Everything was going right. We had enough money that we could speculate in stocks and easily get more. These good times would never end. Then, on October 23, 1929, Black Thursday, as it was called, things changed. It was followed by October 29, 1929, which was called Black Tuesday. Black Tuesday is the day the Stock Market crashed and our greatest depression ever started its ten year run. Unemployment would hit 25%. Wages would fall 42%. Prices would fall 10% per year. It was a world-wide affair. Despair would cover the land. What would we do? What could we do?
One thing was very clear: our current President had to go. We needed new blood, new hope, a new direction. As people gathered around any radio they could find, they listened to that new President’s first inauguration speech. Five sentences into that speech, Franklin Roosevelt said, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” President Roosevelt took our hands and pointed us toward our recovery. He was that strong, calming voice we needed in a time when all looked hopeless.
I don’t know why some people get things like cancer. I do know I’m glad I know someone like Lori, who is determined to beat it. I’m really glad our history is covered with brave men like Franklin Roosevelt who knew how much we needed a strong voice to calm our fears. I’m really glad for the man named Jesus, who has the hands to lift me out of that darkest called sin.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Please continue to be with Lori. Give her strength and courage when she needs it. Help her through those rough bumps in the road as she chases the cancer away. Thanks for her positive outlook and inspiration. Thank you also for Your Son, who took my sins in my place. Amen.
