Aging With Humor

My 87 year old mom got a call from a telephone solicitor saying she had won a trip to the Bahamas. She decided to have some fun so she told the gal that she would love to go but would need a wheel chair and someone to go with her. There was a pause on the other end, then the gal said, "I'm sorry," and hung up.

It Isn't a Treasure if One Finds No Value in It

I was picking raspberries this morning.  Several years ago my husband gave the neighbors some starts.  They planted them along the chain link fence so that our berries intertwined with theirs.  I have noticed that since they planted them, they only picked them the first year.  Each year buckets of berries fall to the ground as they ripen and drop on the other side of the fence. A couple years ago I started reaching across to get the ripe berries. To me berries are a treasure. A hint of summer when jam is spread on toast on a cold December morning. A cool refreshment dropped whole and frozen into my lemonade.  Or my favorite, picked and eaten with no bucket needed. My husband and I tease each other about picking $30 of berries in a morning.  I can't imagine paying $5 for a tiny container I could fill in less than a minute right here at home. To me a treasure.  To my neighbors a privacy fence.  Where I find value in the berries, they find value in the lush foliage.

I think religion is like that.  We choose which parts we value, which are treasures.

 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!" Matthew 13:45-46

My pearl of great value, my treasure is the one who uttered those words.

Sometimes It Takes 40 Years to Move 11 Days

I've been reading about the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years.  The journey could have taken 11 days. Caleb and Joshua looked ahead to the Promise Land, realizing part of the promise was God's protection in entering the land. Unfortunately, the people sided with the 10 scouts who looked at their adversaries and forgot to factor God into the equation. Their negativity influenced an entire nation that moving forward was a lost cause.  After a sound reprimand from Moses, some of the  tribes decided to go it alone and take the land God had promised.  Once again they forgot to factor God in. They were soundly defeated. And so the wandering became.  God provided for their basic needs.  Manna  to eat. Water to drink.  Clothes that didn't wear out.  Feet that didn't blister.  All basic needs were met.  A generation died off.

The Land Flowing With Milk and Honey was traded for a nomad life.
A generation was lost.
40 years

It could have taken 11 days.

What Was That Again!

I just spent a few (too many) minutes in the check out aisle.  According to one of the magazines on the rack, the royal couple is expecting.  The baby is a girl and the Queen, who is on her death bed, has given her blessings on the chosen name.  In other news, Sid Caesar only has weeks to live.

Hmmm, Sid Caesar died last week.  Even when they get it right, they get it wrong.