by

Twice Is Too Many Times For Me

They say lightning never strikes twice, but I’ve heard of people getting struck by lightning more than once.

twice is too many times for me

I remember golfing with a buddy when we were on the 16th hole down in a valley when the warning siren blared throughout the whole course. With our lightning rods – I mean umbrellas – raised, my friend Mike began walking up the steep cart path. 

I turned to say something to him and saw a flash of light that almost blinded me. The worst part, however, was the sound of the thunder that boomed about a second after the lightning. 

We knew it was close, looked at each other, said in unison, “Let’s get out of here!” and started running. 

No one wants to be hit by lightning, or even get close to it … but it does happen. 

In Canada there are an average of over 2 million lightning strikes per year, yet only 100 to 150 people are injured each year by lightning. That tells me that lightning is not all that accurate. Still, it claims about 9 or 10 lives per year. 

It’s rare to be struck by lightning more than once, but don’t tell that to Roy Sullivan. He was struck seven times!

Well, my golfing lightning story was the closest I’ve ever come, but something happened the other day that reminded me of being struck by lightning twice. 

When I was in college I got injured playing hockey. I was skating up the ice with a good head of steam and scooped at the puck along the boards. The plastic strip at the base of the boards had a join right where the blade of my stick made contact with the puck. The join wasn’t even and acted as a full stop for my stick. 

I drove the butt end of my stick into my upper thigh and it lifted me right off the ice, until the stick broke in half and I came crashing down. 

It was probably the most pain I’ve experienced in my life.

I’ll never forget it. I had clipped a small artery, just missing the main artery in my leg by a couple of millimetres. The result was a hematoma about twice the size of a golf ball that appeared in mere seconds. 

I ended up having surgery to tie off the artery and drain the blood. 

Fast forward 40 years later. … Last week I was skating with the puck and went to go around a guy right by the boards. It was tight, yet somehow the blade of my stick wedged into a gate – how it got in there, still amazes me.

All I know is the butt end of my stick hit my upper thigh and I was flying in the air.  

I had a déjà vu moment as I landed on the ice.

Thankfully it wasn’t serious this time, just some bruising and tenderness for a few days.

All I can say is, I hope I’m not the Roy Sullivan of hockey rinks.

Here’s the thing: There are some things that we don’t want to have to experience twice, or want another chance at. But God gives us multiple chances to respond to His invitation to begin a relationship with Him through His son, Jesus Christ. Don’t wait for another chance to come along. Put your faith in Christ today.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is something you hope you will not experience again? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email weekly.

by

This Store Closure Really Surprised Me

Have you ever been surprised by a store that was closed at an odd time? 

This store closure really surprised me

Since forever it seems stores have kept hours that really suited most consumers. But it wasn’t always that way. 

When I was a kid there were no stores open on Sundays. And on holidays you had better have gassed up your car because there were no gas stations open either.

Times changed and slowly Sunday shopping became a regular thing. No one batted an eyelash when parking lots were filled on Sunday afternoons.

Since then stores have stayed open later and later into the evening. … Well, that was until the pandemic.

During the pandemic everyday life kind of shut down. You basically needed an appointment to purchase a few 2 by 4s from the hardware store.

When the pandemic ended, stores didn’t go back to the same hours they kept before the lockdowns. Most stores had routinely been open until 9 or sometimes 10 pm, but now 8 pm is more the rule for store closing. 

There have been a few times that I’ve been caught by this new pattern. I’ve shown up to a few box stores at 7:59 only to find out that they were locking up. 

There was also the time that I left my house at 8:01 thinking I had almost an hour to roam around Best Buy, only to find out that the lights were out and no one was home at 8:10 when I arrived.

Still, eight o’clock is sufficient for most shoppers to get what they need from a store.

But this doesn’t account for anomalies …

I went to college in Regina, Saskatchewan in the early 80’s. I remember a couple of times I needed to get something from a department store on a Thursday afternoon – nothing more normal than for a store to be open Thursday afternoons. 

But I discovered Regina shut down on Thursdays. There was no shopping other than convenience stores and gas stations. 

Thursday! …. Why Thursday? 

I never found the answer to that one. You would think stores would be on a roll, ramping up for the weekend shopping. Nope. They just shut down in the middle of the week. 

It was crazy to my way of thinking. 

And so was this week for me …

My wife, Lily, had mentioned to me that we should try a Chinese restaurant we’ve never been to before. She had read some good reviews. She hadn’t taken anything out of the freezer for dinner so I suggested that we try it that night. 

A couple of hours later we went online to look at their menu and choose what we wanted. Like Pavlov’s dogs, we probably spent five minutes salivating over the different dishes that were pictured on the menu. 

Finally we made our decision. We were just about to order when we read their hours of operation: Closed Wednesdays.

What? …. Who closes their store in the middle of the week like that? I’m sure even stores in Regina are now open throughout the week. 

What a disappointing blow. How then do you even recover to figure out what to eat? 

It was a poor second choice but luckily Five Guys was open on Wednesdays. 

Here’s the thing: We can be caught off guard from time to time in life. But there is a time we should never be caught off guard. That time is when we will meet Jesus face to face. No one knows when that will be, so the best way to not get caught is to start a relationship with Him now. Place your faith in Christ and, whenever the time comes, you will not face a closed sign. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When have you been surprised that something was closed at an inconvenient time?

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email inbox weekly.

by

Light Is So Important That You Can’t Do Without It

Losing light is more problematic than just making a room a darker place. We’ve all gone into a room, flicked on the lights and realized one of the bulbs is burnt out.

light is so important that you can't do without it

You notice immediately that it is not as bright in that room. The room seems dull and, if it’s a bathroom and you are over 40, you complain that you can’t see your face well enough to do the work that needs to be done on it.

Losing just one light out of many makes a difference. Sometimes the difference is between finding something you are looking for and not finding it at all.

The older I get, the more important light is to me. 

I’m fine with low lighting when I’m out for a nice dinner. It doesn’t matter if I can’t make out exactly what the vegetables are on my plate. It’s the mood that counts most and I will forgo being able to see if my steak has been cooked medium or medium rare.

But when I’m looking for something or trying to read, I want to put as much light on the matter as possible. One light down and the search becomes frustrating; reading becomes a chore.

Currently I’m missing a light in our family room and it’s really bugging me.

It’s not a light that prevents me from seeing or changes the mood setting of the room. It’s a light that turns on when my team scores a goal. I have a Budweiser goal light. The only time it turns on is when the Toronto Maple Leafs score a goal. 

I realize that this year the Leafs aren’t scoring a ton of goals, but this light is not turning on for any goals. 

The other thing about this light is that it not only cycles a red light for a few seconds, it also gives two blasts of what sounds like a truck horn.

It is awesome! 

It can be annoying if you are doing something else or in the middle of speaking. It can be frightening if you are not watching the game and all of a sudden the light and horn go off. I’ll admit there have been a few times I’ve jumped when it’s gone off. 

But it is also very exciting when you hear the sound and come running into the room, see the light flashing and catch the replay of the goal.

That’s all nice but sadly my light has not been turning on at all this year. 

For the first part of the hockey season I couldn’t connect it to the internet. I thought it was a problem with my modem, but it turned out that its batteries were low. The goal light takes four D sized batteries. 

After I put new batteries in I had no problem connecting to the internet. But it’s still not announcing goals.

Other people have also had issues with their lights not going off. … Maybe Budweiser had to lay off the guy that presses the goal button. They have had some troubles lately.

All I know is, I’m missing my light and I want it back. And if not now, at least for the playoffs.

Here’s the thing: For people who have a relationship with Jesus, they have a light in them, a light that guides them and shows them the way. This light is actually the person of the Holy Spirit. The only thing that can dim this light is if we ignore Him. Pay attention to the light in you and follow His direction. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What light in your life have you noticed is not working? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email inbox weekly.

by

A Burn Can Multiply To Become A Double Burn

Have you ever been burned by the actions of others, only to experience a second burn from that first action?

a burn can multiply to become a double burn

It happens. 

Maybe you have been part of a struggling company that got taken over by a competitor. The first burn was when you had to adjust to a new system, a new boss. But the second burn came when the amalgamation made your position redundant and you were let go. That’s a double burn.

I remember driving up north when a deer hit my car. It was an older car, but still drivable. But when I took it to the insurance claim centre the next week, they wrote the car off. They told me I couldn’t drive it. I replied that I’d already driven it over 550 kilometres since the accident! 

It didn’t change their minds. They just gave me a lift to the car rental place. 

I got burned by having my car damaged through no fault of my own. Then the insurance company gave me less than what I needed to replace my car. I got burned twice in that deal. 

Getting burned twice is being put out in two different ways from one action. 

Sometimes we can be the cause of our misfortune, but often we are not. And that’s what makes that double burn so annoying. I was not responsible for it, but it happened to me … twice.

So this is what happened to me the other day … 

I play hockey on the military base in my town. For that I pay for a gym membership and it includes pick up hockey at the rink. 

I purchase a pass for a few months at a time and only renew for the time I need to finish out the hockey season. I don’t use the gym year-round so I only need my membership from October to April.

Well, my pass was ending and so I went in to top it up until April. All was good. Then I went and played hockey. 

After hockey was over, one guy said, “There will be no pick up hockey next week due to the strike.” 

I immediately thought, “Wait! I just paid for my membership pass two hours ago.” 

Not being in the military, I didn’t know anything about the impending strike of the civilian support staff. 

I understand their complaint. They don’t get paid very much and these days that’s got to be difficult. I am sympathetic to their cause, but I don’t like them taking my money for a membership without informing me about the impending strike. 

That was Friday and immediately after the weekend I would not be able to use my membership for who knows how long.

If I would have paid after the strike it would have cost me less. But now, not only am I missing out on hockey because of the strike, I paid more than I needed to … a double burn!

I hope my wasted fee ends up in a support worker’s pocket. 

Here’s the thing: Having a relationship with Christ has a double benefit. You have Him in your life now to help you, guide you, comfort you, but you also will experience eternity with Him. The contrary is also true: no relationship with Christ means you miss out now AND for eternity. It’s the worst double burn you can experience. Don’t wait to put your faith in Christ. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you experienced a double burn? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email weekly.

by

Being Free In The Western World May Not Be As You Think

I’ve come to believe that we here in North America – Canada anyway – are not as free as we think we are.

being free in the western world may not be as you think

On the surface it seems like we can say and do what we want … within legal limits, of course. 

In fact, there are more freedoms now for some things than ever before. Marijuana is now legal – that’s a new freedom. But at one time they put cocaine in Coca Cola and that was legal! 

… Maybe there are tradeoffs.

Still, I can go where I please and can say what I want. … But can I?

Can I express my opinion or will my ideas and actions be considered by some to be wrong, even against the law … to the extent that I keep them to myself for fear of being fined, constrained or even arrested?

I saw a video the other day that really disturbed me. 

A reporter – some call him a personality; I’ll call him a citizen – was walking alongside a Federal Minister asking questions. He had a camera crew with him and a microphone in his hand. The Minister was walking fast and wasn’t answering his questions. 

Suddenly a man dressed in black stepped up and blocked the citizen with the microphone. The citizen had his head turned and didn’t see this man step up and they bumped into each other. The man in black then grabbed the citizen and told him he was under arrest for assaulting an officer. The man in black was a police officer of some kind.

I’ve seen this move before in basketball; it’s called a pick. A player will stop and block an opposing player so his teammate with the ball can get around the opposing player.

That’s what happened in the video. The officer set a pick on the citizen and the minister walked around them both. The citizen was arrested for committing a foul. 

The only problem here was the officer was moving and moved into the citizen to set the pick. In a legal pick, the blocker must first have his feet planted and be stationary. In my observation, the guy committing the foul was the man in black. He should have been arrested … or the reporter should have been given two free questions to ask the Minister. 

I heard later that, after the reporter was arrested, they dropped the charges … and for good reason: it was all on video. (You can watch the video here.)

There was no assault; there was just a poorly executed basketball move to stop an annoying citizen (reporter) from carrying out his assignment. 

We believe we are free and, in fact, have rights to express ourselves in a legal way. But we are not as free as we think. 

Apparently, an annoying citizen can be arrested for asking questions that an elected member of Parliament does not feel particularly inclined to answer.

If you’re a person of influence or power, it goes with the territory that you’ll be stopped and asked questions, regardless of whether you want to answer or not.

Just ask any celebrity or sports personality. They don’t have people arrested when they’re asked questions they don’t like. 

Sadly, someone else can deem our expression as wrong and even illegal.  

… Which leaves us thinking twice about how we express ourselves and our freedom.

Here’s the thing: Many people think that to give your life to Christ is to give up your freedom to make decisions for yourself. But none of us are free to make our own decisions and think as we want. A Christian simply chooses to place his freedom under God’s rule. And we all place ourselves under those who were elected to rule over us, regardless of whether we think it’s good or not. One thing we can be sure of is that God has our best interests in mind.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When have you felt you couldn’t express your opinion? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this to your email weekly.

by

When Pretty Good Is Just Not Good Enough

Sometimes “pretty good” isn’t “good enough”. I use the phrase “pretty good” a lot. Often I use it to describe something I think is really good. 

when pretty good is just not good enough

Maybe I’ve filled out too many surveys and evaluations to put everything in the excellent category. My default has become “pretty good” because it’s possible that something could be better but I don’t know it. I leave room for some improvement.

So when asked how dinner was, my “pretty good” means I really enjoyed it. 

When a hockey player scores an amazing goal, they get my “pretty good” approval.

To me pretty good isn’t sub-standard; it’s not mediocre; it’s not even good enough. Pretty good means it’s very good.

Recently a friend of mine moved his cottage. They built a foundation and basement on a piece of land. Then they jacked their cottage up and rolled it about six properties down the road to the new foundation.  

When I saw the pictures of all they had done and how it looked when they lowered the cottage on the new footings, I thought it was fantastic. I told him, “Man, that’s pretty good what you did there.”

I say all this about this phrase because I don’t give out a “pretty good” for just anything.

About a week and a half ago I was playing hockey. Halfway through our game I sat on the bench for ten minutes while they flooded the ice again. I think I got a little chilled because, when we got back on the ice, I noticed my back was a bit stiff – not bad, just tender. 

As I kept playing, I could feel my lower back tighten up. I even got to the point where I decided to call it quits before our ice time was up.

I don’t usually do that, but it was bugging me.

The next day I decided to give my back a rest. The morning after that, I again decided not to play because my back still didn’t feel quite right. It wasn’t bad, but I felt I had tweaked it slightly.

That was Christmas week and I didn’t have hockey until the end of it. 

Our annual Silcock Christmas gathering includes renting ice and playing with the kids and nephews. By then my back was feeling, well, you know – “pretty good”. I wouldn’t say it was perfect but it was feeling really good again – something like 85% good.

I thought playing hockey with the family would be just fine. And it was for most of it. 

But about three quarters of the way through, I stretched to receive a pass and felt my back tighten up. It wasn’t bad, but I did feel like I tweaked it again.

Now I’m going to have to miss hockey for at least another week. 

Sometimes “pretty good” isn’t “good enough”.

Here’s the thing: Many of us feel like we are “pretty good” and that should be good enough to get us in God’s good books. But being “pretty good” is not good enough when God is perfect. Pretty good will never match perfection. God knew this too, so He sent Jesus to be our sacrifice to make up the difference from being “pretty good” to being good enough for God. Take Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and trust Him to make you good enough for God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What does “pretty good” mean to you? Leave your questions and comments below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email each week.

by

Waiting Is What Drives Christmas Each Year

There is a lot of waiting that takes place at Christmas time. Sure, there is anticipation and celebration and, of course, there is a ton of preparation.

waiting is what drives Christmas each year

You can see the preparation by how full the parking lots are at the mall, or the crowds filing in and out of Costco. People are looking for presents to give, decorations to display, and food to make.

But besides all that, Christmas is a time of waiting. 

We wait for people to respond to invitations to get together. We wait to see if the day we set the invitation for will be acceptable to those invited. We wait to set dates for when the family can all gather together. 

We wait for the big turkey dinner to be ready on Christmas Day, and the smells of it all cooking make the wait seem never-ending.

We also wait to open presents as we see more and more gifts pile up under the tree. 

I remember when I was little, the waiting was the hardest thing for my brother and I. Most years the waiting was too hard for us and we started snooping around. Our parents had to be good and creative at hiding our presents before Christmas. 

One year we found our big present all wrapped up, trying to blend in on a shelf in our dad’s office area. The waiting was over the top torture. Waterboarding is nothing compared to the waiting that year. 

We thought we were pretty stealth in lifting a corner of the coloured wrapping paper but somehow our parents found out. Christmas morning the present was not in the pile. When we opened all the presents, our parents said because we had peeked, they took that present back. 

Both John and I were quite devastated for a few minutes until they hauled it out. 

It was the biggest hot wheel track set you could buy at the time. 

It was the waiting – or lack of it – that nearly cost us to miss the experience of setting up that hot wheels track and watching our cars zoom the length of our basement.

This year one of the most difficult things was waiting for our kids to arrive for Christmas. And the waiting was hard because they didn’t get here until late Christmas afternoon.

Though Christmas Eve and Christmas morning don’t pause for anything, in effect the waiting for our kids delayed Christmas for us on an emotional level until they got here.

You can’t really get into the whole Christmas spirit when you are still waiting for everyone to show up. We had to be patient and wait until one couple arrived, but then wait longer for the other couple to show up.  

It’s like you can’t start Christmas without them all there. 

Waiting is the nemesis of Christmas, but it is also part of what fuels how big that Christmas is. The unknown, the expectation and the excitement are all exaggerated because of the waiting.

So waiting is what we do at Christmas.

Here’s the thing: For hundreds of years God’s people waited for the birth of the Messiah. There were prophecies and signs of His coming, but they could only wait. Even now we wait for Christ to return. And one day He will. We don’t know when, but we wait. And God waits for all those who have and will be invited to show up. Be sure you are one who’s waiting for Christ. Put your faith and hope in Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What were you waiting for this Christmas? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email weekly. 

by

Circumstances Should Dictate Our Actions

In order to be successful in our pursuits, or even protect against harm, we need to understand the circumstances we live in.

circumstances should dictate our actions

It’s one thing to be blindsided by something you didn’t see coming, but, if you are unaware or not paying attention to the circumstances, you will not see what’s coming. Then your reaction or actions will be out of step with reality.

This can apply to even the weather.

If you are unaware of the outdoor temperature, it’s very possible that you will not be dressed properly for going outside.

That may be a minor inconvenience in the summer, but in the winter it’s a lot more serious. You definitely want to be wearing the right coat when the temps dip below 0 Celsius, or wearing boots if there is a foot of snow outside.

To be caught unaware of these circumstances would be a mistake you wouldn’t want to make again.

On the other hand, if you have a rare collection of baseball cards and don’t understand that card collection is a hot fad at the time, you will probably miss out on getting as much for those baseball cards as you could have.

I’m beginning to wonder if some people in real estate right now are not paying attention to the circumstances they are in. They’re not in tune with the signs of the times.

My son is looking to buy a condo right now. Some might say it’s not a good time, but sometimes your circumstances force the issue.

He’s looked at a lot of homes and has put offers on a few. What he’s finding is the sellers all want more than what they are asking. 

I don’t blame the sellers because who wouldn’t want to get more than your asking price? But the economic circumstances we find ourselves in right now might not accommodate that kind of thinking or selling practice.

Some sellers set a price but don’t want to settle for anything less than way over what they are asking. Then there are other sellers who set a low asking price and take bids on a certain day. They are hoping for a bidding war that will drive up the price of what they get. 

However, we don’t live in that world right now. That’s not reality.

Twice now my son has placed the best offer on one of these bidding listings. Once he was the best offer between a whopping total of two bids. The other time he was the only bid. He didn’t get either one of the homes. And because what the owners really wanted was a figure far above the asking price. 

It seems that some real estate agents and their clients still believe the circumstances are like they were during covid.

The other night ended with two unhappy groups and a lot of wasted energy, hope and expectation.  

You have to know your circumstances.

Here’s the thing: We can see the world struggling environmentally, struggling to find peace between countries, struggling to solve world economic and health concerns through a one-size-fits-all controlled system.

Thousands of years ago the Bible predicted it all, but also gave a hope in the midst of it all. That hope is Jesus Christ and, by having our faith in Him, no matter what happens to this world we can share eternity with Him in heaven. Be aware of the circumstances and act appropriately.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What circumstances have you been ignoring lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email weekly.

by

Construction In My City Has A Different Timeline

They say there are two seasons in Canada – winter and construction.

construction in my city has a different timeline

Summer is usually when all the road construction and repairs get done. But we have become lulled into living with lane restrictions and detours, some that last our entire spring and summer.

Here in my city, they are taking the construction season to a new level. 

Road construction now goes deep into the fall and, I dare say, into winter.

Coming back from our cottage in late August this year, we were welcomed home with work being done on an intersection close to our place. This intersection is so close that I use it every day. Actually I would have to go out of my way not to use it.

I thought the construction would help the flow of traffic and make things easier to get out of our subdivision, especially during peek hours. 

I did wonder why they were starting it at the end of the summer though. School was fast approaching and the traffic that the nearby high school generates makes it tough to get out of our community. It was obvious they would finish the construction after school started, which made me wonder why they couldn’t have scheduled it to start earlier in the summer when the intersection is not as busy.

Well, here we are rolling into December and they are still pouring cement and paving the road. And it looks like it will not help one bit with traffic flow … but hey, it will give bikers a nice lane to ride on. 

Maybe the city is sending a message right before the snow flies: Ride your bike; don’t take your car. 

I’m pretty sure that as the roads pile up with the white stuff that there will be fewer bikers … but at least they’ll have a beautiful lane. It may even get plowed. 

Why not? So much time and money has been spent on it, why not keep the lane open for the crazies who want to freeze riding to school or work. 

This intersection is taking so long to create and is such a pain, that I have a new Christmas wish. But it’s not a great wish, because it would mean I wouldn’t receive it until Christmas morning. And you know those construction workers will not be tying a bow around the stop lights for me on Christmas Day.

My worst fear is that this will go on into the new year. If it does, I will have to make a New Year’s resolution to find another way out of my subdivision.

Already I’ve had to find a few alternate routes that take me on a meandering drive through other communities. I am seeing a new side of the city.

I remember as a kid the agonizing wait for Christmas to come. Seeing the presents pile up around the tree got me hoping. Wondering what was in them created uncontainable excitement. 

I never thought I would experience those same feelings over the construction of an upgraded intersection.

Here’s the thing: It’s natural for us to have a timeline for things we want to obtain in our lives. Sometimes we have some control over them. But there are times when we want God to bring about something in our lives. It’s those things we must be patient for. God’s timeline is not ours.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you in a rush to see completed or come about in your life? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email weekly.

by

Your Agenda May Not Be Your Agenda At All

It seems like everyone has an agenda for you, whether you like it or not.

your agenda may not be your agenda at all

People like to impose their agenda on you and sometimes they don’t even realize they’re doing it. 

I went to an eye clinic the other day to follow up on some tests I had had concerning an issue that resulted from my on-ice collision several weeks ago. (You can read about it here).

I was there to get the results from about seven tests they had done on my eyes at the previous appointment.

I was a little concerned going in to see the ophthalmologist because I didn’t think I had done very well on a few of the tests. But when I sat with the eye doctor he really had a different agenda than to give me feedback on the tests.

The eye specialist is no different from anyone else.

When I say to Lily, “I’m going to the store”, her response is always the same – “What store are you going to?” And I know that question means trouble. Either she wants to know where I’m going so that I can pick something up for her, or she wants to come with me.

No matter her response, there is always an agenda in her answer. 

If she wants to come with me, that most likely nixes my agenda for my shopping trip. Somehow the trip becomes Lily’s trip with me just tagging along. We end up going into several women’s clothing stores or a home furnishing store, or stopping at the grocery store for a few items we can’t do without.

And all I wanted was a shirt! So much for my agenda.

Well that’s how I felt at the eye doctor’s. 

He told me my eye structure was similar to one with glaucoma, not that I have or will necessarily ever get it. He wanted me to see an optometrist on a yearly basis so that they could monitor my eye health as I age.

I was kind of discouraged by all that. I just wanted to know how I did on the tests and how my eyes are now. It had been about 27 years since I’d been to an eye doctor and discovered I needed reading glasses. Now, all of a sudden, I was being told I need to be monitored for potential eye issues.  

Feeling a little frustrated, I asked the doc, “How are my eyes now? How did I do on the tests?”

His response was, “Your eyes are very good; you did really well on the tests.”  

There was one I was particularly concerned about and he said I did perfect on that test. 

I walked out of the clinic that day a little miffed that I would be called in a year for another appointment. If I hadn’t have asked, I would not have found out what I wanted to know.

The appointment was all the eye doctor’s agenda, not mine.

Here’s the thing: We all have an agenda for our own lives and an idea of what we think is best for it. There are also other people who will seek to impose their agendas on you. But God has an agenda for you. His agenda is worth joining because God knows you and what’s best for you so His agenda will lead you to the best outcome in the long run. Put you faith in Christ to link with God’s agenda. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Whose agenda are you following these days? Leave you comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email inbox weekly.