Not Quite What I Remember

So let me start with a confession.  

I am just a big kid.  

When I was a kid, my favorite cereal in the world was Franken Berry.  (For those unaware, it is a strawberry flavored cereal with marshmallows).  It was sad that it only came out during the Halloween season.  

For the past several years, I have seen it in stores during October, and often thought about buying some to revive old taste buds.  

This year, I finally broke.  I bought some to have for dessert at night.  And the other night, I excitedly got a bowl, and sat down to enjoy my special treat.  

It was not quite what I remember.  In fact, it was nothing like I remember.  Well, okay...it was still strawberry flavor.  

The marshmallows were okay.  But the cereal itself was something on the South end of disappointing.  I suppose it was better than dog food might be (although, when I was a kid, I kind of liked a product called "Doggy Donuts).  But I digress.  

I found myself just working to finish the bowl.  

How sad.  

Something I remember as being so wonderful just wasn't all that good.  Was it that I had lower standards back then?  Did they change the formula over the years?  Or have foods become so much sweeter through the years that what was sweet back then is like cardboard now?

I hear people talking about how awesome it was when they were in high school.  Bruce Springsteen sings about "Glory Days".  I think about what it would be like to go back, knowing what I know now. Yes, there are things I would change.  I'm over 50 now, but I wouldn't go back to my teenage years for anything.  

How much time is lost, longing for what was?  How can we enjoy life if we are too busy missing what we no longer have?  

When I was a kid, I didn't have a truck payment.  I lived at home, rent free.  I didn't have electric bills, or water bills.  I didn't have to go to work every single day.  I got to sleep in on the weekends until noon if I wanted to.  Friday and Saturday nights were spent at the arcade, and riding go karts, and whatever else we felt like doing.  

Now, I get up at 4 to 6 AM, and work ten to twelve hours a day.  Friday and Saturday nights are spent at home, looking through work for the next day.  Maybe taking the evening off, and watching TV.  I can't not work because I have a huge house payment, a truck payment, electric bills, water bills, insurance bills, cable bills, etc.  I have a wife, a mother-in-law, and three dogs living in the house.  There is seldom time to just sit and do nothing.

But in the last few years, God has shown me how to be thankful for things I always saw as negatives.

I'm thankful for a huge house payment because that means I have a nice home to come home to every evening.  Some people live in a cardboard box (or worse).

I'm thankful for a huge electric bill because it means I have heat and AC, and lights.  Some people freeze in winter, and swelter in summer because they don't have electricity.

I'm thankful to "have to" get up early every morning because it means I have a job to go to.  I have spent months looking through ads, trying to make ends meet on unemployment.  And I have the physical ability to go to work every day.  How many people are suffering from a disease, and would love nothing more than to be able to work?

I choose to be thankful for what I have now.  And I choose to not wish I could have what I thought was so good.

Wherever you are, and whatever is going on in your life now, choose to be thankful.  Thankful for what you have.  (If you are reading this, you have internet and access to a computer).  And you have eyes that can see, a brain that can comprehend, and the ability to read.  

It could be so much worse.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with an almost full box of Franken Berry.

11:00 PM, Monday, December 31st, 2012

It is 11:00 on the last night of the year 2012. As so many do on this day, I sit reflecting on the year past, and think about the coming year.

2012 brought stories of sadness, and anger. Jerry Sandusky showed us that even in the halls of schools, those who are chosen to guide and protect students are capable of horrible atrocities. There was the fall of General David Petraeus, showing that even heroes are capable of falling. And, of course, there were the 20 innocent children gunned down in their classrooms.

It seems every year, news stories grow colder and bleaker. More pain, more death, and more suffering. It's easy to feel little hope for the future.

Being a Christian, I read the Bible, and I know that the end will come one day. I can't imagine it will be too many more years (or months), before God decides He has had enough. And in spite of things I look forward to living and experiencing, I'm ready.

Yet, I'm called to be light and salt to the world around me. How can I be light when there is so much darkness? How can I possibly help people find hope when despair seems to fill each day?

In my quiet time, I pray for guidance and words. As my wife could attest, I'm not a very good communicator. This is evidenced by the fact that I average one blog posting about every four months. But I want to be able to communicate hope to those around me, especially when they are suffering. That's where I find some of my comfort.

When I feel down about what might be happening in my life, I look around, and realize there are so many people who have it so much worse than I do. When I complain about having a bad day at work, I look around and realize there are a lot of people who only wish they had a job to go to. And there are those who don't have the health to get out of bed, much less keep a job. In doing this, I find a perspective that brings me hope.

So to be uplifting, I should tell you about all of the wonderful things the New Year can bring. New, exciting changes in science or medicine. Maybe the economy will turn around this year. But we can't control much of that, so let's look at what we can control.

Every new year, we make resolutions that we have every intention of keeping. What is on your list? Maybe you will stick with your resolution to eat healthier this year. Maybe you will exercise five times a week the way you have tried to in the past few years. Maybe it's the year you choose to go back to school to finish a degree. Whatever your resolution, you make them for one reason. To try to make this year better than previous years.

So will this year be better? That depends on you. Not so much whether or not you make, or keep, your resolutions. That can in its own way, make you feel better about yourself. But when you are surrounded by news stories, will you feel discouraged, or will you be able to find peace?

It isn't like there is going to be a drastic change in the events that unfold around us. There will still be favorite people who we have put up on a pedestal who let us down. There will always be news stories about senseless killings of innocent people. Most nightly news will NOT be uplifting, happy stories. And if we rely on news stations to help us find peace, or even happiness, we will forever be unsettled.

What I hear when news stories tell us about the disasters, or horrible acts of people, are also stories of everyday heroes. The teacher who hid her students, saving many of their lives. Among the worst people, there are also the best people. In putting others ahead of themselves, they bring a ray of hope in the darkness of horrible acts.

I've often said that at the end of my life, if there are a handful of people who can truly say that their lives are better because of me, then my life has been worthwhile. Yet I realize there has been a lot of time I've spent worrying about what is going on in my life...to me. In 2013, I hope to truly live more for others, and less for myself. When I put others ahead of myself, I find peace. And when I'm suffering, the quickest way to feel better is to do something for someone else. Counterintuitive, I know.

But when we open our eyes to others, we learn that there are people all around who are hurting. When we spend all of our time looking down at our own feet, wondering how we will make it through whatever mess we are facing, we miss a great opportunity. When we help others, we help ourselves.

May each of us find more time in 2013. More time to spend in prayer. More time to read and study the Bible. Time to say thank you to a police officer; a firefighter; a soldier; a sailor. Time to help a neighbor rake his leaves. Time to just listen to those around us when they need to talk. Time to make our little corner of the world a little bit brighter for those around us.

God bless you in 2013.