James 4:13-14
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";
whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."
My mom dropped over the other day and brought with her a topic of conversation of which she had been reminiscing with my grandma which contained highlights of my high school years. She had skewed a bit of the history so I got out my scrapbook to fact check. My four inch thick book of memories is old school. It contains everything from the usual play bills and photos- to what stands as trash which is my lime green tennis handle wrap and and matching lime green bow from my wrap around tennis sunglasses- to the obscureness of a magazine ad of a chicken with a grin full of teeth and the dried up ear from a dissected fetal pig. Between the grey covers of this three ring photo binder encased in acid rich papers and tape I am teased with the thought that perhaps I peaked in high school, and I grow depressed.
I graduated with a class of 25 other students. I was not the smartest, fastest, nor was I voted best legs.
For the record I was voted most likely to have the most children- check! I was also voted most likely to be president of my own corporation. Don't these two characteristics go hand in hand?
What I did have going for me was that I was involved in every activity offered within the hallowed halls of Dike High. I was an athlete, a musician, a scholar, a journalist, a thespian, and I went to church on Sunday and Thursday and lead a Bible study. I did achieve some measure of notoriety and success. I had plenty of bits with which to fill my scrapbook, which I created on the only day that I ever skipped school with my partner in truancy, Ellie Stewart. Her dining room table was the location we chose to preserve our treasured memories. Although her mother watched our every move, encouraging us all the way, my mom almost would not okay my absence from school which would have thwarted my plans to graduate without incidence.
As I reflected on my past achievements I couldn't help but review my more recent history. What have I done since then? Have I been using all my abilities and talents to their utmost to bring glory and honor to the Lord or have I been coasting on past accomplishments?
One thing that really came to light due to my dad's passing was the imminence of my mortality. I can plan for the future, but my life is a vapor and what I can do for the Lord does have its time constraints. I was reminded of our state of vapor again this very morning.
Our neighbor left on vacation yesterday and asked Breadwinner to feed the wood boiler in his shop a couple times a day while he was gone. Upon opening the door to the shop this morning he was greeted with steamy smoke. Breadwinner raced home to grab out fire extinguisher to dampen the flames until the fire department could arrive. The fire was quickly brought under control and after careful examination it was decided that the fire was started not by the wood boiler, but by failed electrical wiring. The fire had started overhead and made its way down to melt the hose on the boiler which sprayed water on the fire enough to keep it in check. When the major work was over the kids and I went to check out the fire men and trucks. Breadwinner shared news of the incidence and it seemed like another simple matter of a grin as "Praise the Lord" rolls from the tongue. I hadn't been too worried as the shop was still standing and at no time did the process seem life threatening. A few hours later I was called to rethink our vapors.
Breadwinner came home from next door in late morning before heading off to work for a second time. He was there long enough to relate what the fire chief had to say about his investigation and the fire and how the Lord had been working through it. Fire Chief told Breadwinner that if the fire had not melted the hose to the wood boiler allowing the water to partially douse the flame he could have been toasted in the backdraft when he opened the shop door feeding the fire with oxygen. Instead he was greeted by billows of smoke and steam.
This time "Praise the Lord" is a contemplative whisper while I hug him a little longer as I kiss him goodbye. God doesn't measure success on the number of yellowing collected newspaper clippings. What He wants from this vapor is to do His will to His glory.
James 4:15
Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
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