Geeta Bakshi gave up her lifelong dream of going to law school after watching the twin towers fall in New York City on September 11, 2001. Sensing a higher calling, she joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and spent years in Afghanistan hunting al Qaeda and seeking to help the Afghan people.

Fourteen years later, Bakshi left the CIA to once again pursue her goal of law school. But when Afghanistan suddenly fell apart this past summer (2021), she knew she had to help the Afghan people who had risked their lives for America.

As the well-known evangelist D.L. Moody walked down a Chicago street one day, he came up to a man and asked him if he were a Christian. The fellow raised his fists and angrily exclaimed, “You mind your own business!” “This is my business,” replied Moody. “Well, then, you must be Moody,” the man responded.

In the midst of all the difficulties and pains of life, like that young boy, we all need hope. Someone has said, “We can live forty days without food, eight days without water, four minutes without air, but only seconds without hope.” The good news is, God is all about HOPE, that is, with Him we can live a life of joyous expectation and anticipation.

One of my favorite Peanuts comic strips begins with Lucy sitting in her booth, offering advice for ten cents. Charlie Brown stops by with questions about life.

“Life is like a deck chair, Charlie Brown,” Lucy says. “On the cruise ship of life, some people place their deck chairs facing the rear of the ship so they can see where they’ve been. Other people face their chairs forward—they want to see where they’re going!” Lucy looks at her puzzled client and asks, “On the cruise ship of life, Charlie Brown, which way is your deck chair facing?”

It was a beautiful summer evening and Joanie and I were enjoying a picnic with our friends, Buddy and Susie. Suddenly, Buddy grabbed his throat with panic in his eyes. We could tell he couldn’t breathe—seemingly from a food obstruction.

Joanie jumped up from the table and performed the Heimlich maneuver on Buddy, causing the obstructing food to pop out like a cork. Wow! It happened so quickly and we all gave thanks to the Lord for the outcome—especially Buddy!

Together they thrive.

God’s plan is like that for us. Our ability to stand strong in spite of the harsh winds of life is directly related to the loving support we receive from God and our community of fellow believers.

In contrast, one of the best examples of someone who finished their life well, other than Jesus, was the apostle Paul. One of the reasons for his success in honoring Jesus to the very end of his life was his single-minded focus and determination.

In the 1995 movie Mr. Holland’s Opus, the story is told of Glenn Holland, who thought his life was compromised when he reluctantly put aside his dream of composing an opus and accepted a job as a high school music teacher.
His goal in life was to write one significant piece of music to leave as his legacy to the world.

When I was a senior in college, my first date with my wife-to-be Joanie was at a Valentine’s Day banquet at my church.

A wise friend once said, “Grief is not the period at the end of the sentence. It is a part of the sentence.” He was right. Grief is not something you “get over” or “get through;” it becomes a part of you and changes you, hopefully for the better…