Surprise!
One of my favorite foods is shrimp. A shrimp is not a very attractive fellow when he crawls across the sea floor. Who, in their right mind, was the soul who first grabbed one of these creepy looking varmints and said, “I bet if you throw one of these on the grill for a little while and then add a little cocktail sauce to it, it would taste great?” I bet the next person would say, “Yeah, but next time let’s try it without the tail and shell.”
Surprises are numerous among the Presidents. Some that you expect to perform well are flops. Some that you are sure will be flops turn out to be pretty good Presidents. Wealth doesn’t seem to be a major contributor to their performance. Some of the best ones had poor and humble beginnings, but there are also those poor souls who were also poor Presidents. The same goes for those born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Some of them performed well, others not so well.
Today, though, we are going to talk about one who was lucky to be around at all. As a child, he was very unhealthy. Not helping his condition was the fact that he came from rather unhealthy stock. Dreams of accomplishments were put on the back burner to the focus on survival.
My grandmother use to have a favorite Bible story. When she first told me about it I thought she was crazy. She told me she heard about it in a sermon. I had been to church pretty much all my life and I had never heard it. I was thinking she might just be a little mixed up. When I got home I decided to look it up. Sure enough, there the story sat in the Old Testament.
Moses was marching the Israelites across the plains and headed toward the promised land. As they encountered people in their path they had mixed results at their receptions. But with God guiding them on their journey the trip had no choice but success. When they did encounter objections, God took care of those, sometimes by removing them completely. It didn’t take long before news got around that the nations better watch out for those Israelites.
Our President’s father died at the age of 46, from cancer. His mother died at the age of 48, from typhoid fever. His sister, Bamie, suffered from congenital bone disease and was partly disabled. His other sister, Conie, had asthma. His younger brother, Elliot suffered from an emotional illness and possibly epilepsy. Elliot would also die at a very young age with his chemical dependency claiming to be one of the chief causes. So it’s no wonder he would have a list of ailments, too.
His father was also from the north. His Mom was from the south. With the Civil War approaching, what was his Dad to do? His Dad really wanted to fight for the Union cause. His Mom didn’t want him to be firing at or getting fired at by her relatives. He just decided to pay someone to take his place, which was perfectly legal at the time. He always regretted this move. It was a remorse that his son and grandsons would try to redeem throughout their lives.
Just as hiring someone to take your place in a war seems a little weird today, in Biblical times they also had an odd ball thing they did with “prophets.” Kings would hire “prophets” to talk to their gods and get that god to bring curses onto their enemies. King Balak, the king of Moab, was warned that the Israelites were fast approaching. Just like any of the kings in their path, he got a little scared. He decided to take matters into his own hand. All he needed was a “professional prophet” to curse these pesky Israelites and then they would suffer a defeat like no other.
King Balak had one of his staffers go on-line to find a “professional prophet.” They read the reviews and found that one of the best was this guy named: Balaam. “Go and get him and offer him lots of money,” the king shouted. “Wow, that’s a lot of money!” Balaam said. Stay here tonight and I’ll see if I can talk God into it. God would have no parts of it. Sadly, Balaam returned to the king’s men in the morning and said God wouldn’t let him go. Off they went to King Balak, who wasn’t too happy about being turned down. So King Balak sent more men and more money, plus they offered him, what the Bible calls, a “promotion.” How do you promote a prophet, would be my question? Does he become like a five-star prophet?
Balaam told them it didn’t make any difference what they offered. He told them they didn’t understand this God. This God was so powerful and if you didn’t do what he said, He would send a lightning bolt out of the sky and zap you. “But I will ask him again, just in case He has changed his mind,” Balaam added. Surprisingly, The Lord told him he could go, but he could only tell the king what God said. Balaam probably could not contain himself. I bet as soon as he left the room he was jumping up and down and shouting, “I’m going to be rich! I’m going to be rich!”
Our young little future President suffered from all kinds of ailments. Headaches, fever, stomach pains, intestinal groaning and probably asthma were just some of the items on his list. His attacks could last several hours to several days. He always seemed to have had a hard time breathing, too. His father was financially secure and tired many different treatments. Nothing seemed to work.
His father was also very big into conservation of our natural resources. He gained national attention for his efforts to save the Shad on the Hudson River. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish even called his Dad: “The Father of all the fishes.” It is here, through his father’s cause, our young lad developed an addiction for exercise and fresh air. It is probably through these new hobbies that his condition improved to the point he was able to lead a “normal” life.
Balaam hopped on his trusted donkey and headed King Balak’s way. He was probably humming, in his head, the new “I’m going to be rich” song that he just made up. All of a sudden his donkey just stopped. “What’s wrong with you, you little beast?” he probably said as he gave the donkey a little nudge. There was still no movement on the donkey’s part. So he struck the donkey again. The donkey pulled next to the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot. Now Balaam was really mad. He raised his staff again and struck the donkey again. Then it happened. Yes, my Grandmother’s favorite part: the donkey talked. “What is wrong with you, man? Can’t you see this angel in front of us with his sword drawn and aiming it right at you? Have I ever disobeyed you before?” the donkey said. The Lord opened Balaam’s eyes so he could see the angel. I don’t know about you, but I think I know a donkey that deserves a serious hug right about now. The angel told Balaam he needed to change his attitude right now. God was sending him to give a message not to make a profit.
Our little lad would grow up to become one of the most energetic Presidents we have ever had. He would also become one of the best outdoorsmen our presidencies have ever seen. Teddy Roosevelt would, also, never miss a chance to defend his country and most credit that with his strong desire to redeem his father who always regretted missing his chance to do that.
Prayer: Father, Life is full of many surprises. Sometimes those surprises are wake up calls. Let me be such a good listener that those extreme measures are not needed on me. Amen.
