Eternity
| TODAY: Ponder these words of writer James Agee: "In every child who is born under no matter what circumstances and of no matter what parents, the potentiality of the human race is born again. [So to in each of us is born] our terrific responsibility toward human life: toward the utmost idea of goodness, of the horror of terrorism, and of God." |
I was in the fifth grade in October 1961. We were in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was terrifying … the possibility of a nuclear war with Russia was quite real, and most kids I knew were really scared. Weekly "air-raid" drills at school, frequent tests of the emergency broadcast system, advertisements for bomb shelters … all served to remind us that a horrible war might come anytime. Every time I heard the fire department's siren, I wondered whether the end would come in the next 30 minutes.
My bedtime ritual was to say a prayer: "Now I lay me down to sleep . . . if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." I ended the prayer to God with a request that He bless all of my family and friends. I would name of each one in hopes that they too would join me in Heaven. After the crisis - the prayer took on new meaning. For the next two years, I went to bed each and every night thinking that tomorrow might not come. I realize now that my faith that God would take my soul to heaven was a powerful antidote to the fears that filled my head.
Now 40 years have passed, and we find ourselves in the midst of a new crisis . . . a crisis involving even more terrible weapons of mass destruction. Increasingly, we are consumed by questions of what tomorrow will bring. Uncertainty, anxiety, despair and, for some, hopelessness. We search for glimmers of hope in the words and deeds of our parents, our friends, our leaders and our pastors. We fixate on the uncertain future, when we should be living in the moment. We look to others for hope when the answer lies within . . . in strengthening our faith . . . in opening our lives to God's love.
I've heard the Call. I need to actively help my three sons understand that God's promise of eternal life is the answer. I need to help strengthen their faith to fend off the monsters that live under their beds … fear and anxiety. I need to help them learn what I learned 40 years ago . . . that talking with God each night can change their lives forever.
— Chuck Appleby
Mikaela Walker
Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist