SCRIP-BITS

Jeremiah 32:17.     Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.
 
Oh Friends, from the cramped, clustered confines of my basement office on a wet, windy, spring-like day, I write these words of peace, LOVE and goodwill! Yeh, mih people, the ole fella’s back home. No more cozy cottage at Store Bay in 20 and 30 something degrees weather, doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. It’s now back to the common task and daily grind. But you know, there’s NO PLACE like HOME, especially if you’re truly comfortable there! As far as I’m concerned you ought to be, since the basic definition of Home is a place where you can relax and let it all hang out. And although we don’t like the boring routine of everyday life, it’s that same routine, that going to the well everyday attitude, come what may, that develops a strength of character, we can’t achieve by any other method. And no matter what kind of bed you sleep in while you’re away, there’s always something special about sleeping in your own bed. Oh my brethren, yesterday was indeed a trying and tiring day! I don’t see how people can travel constantly nuh, which entails sitting on uncomfortable, choky planes for so many hours, and going through one embarrassing and very often insensitive security check after the other. I was up from about 5 yesterday morning, wrote the Bit, then ran around doing some last minute things in sweet Tobago – obviously including a last dip in Store Bay, and giving plenty, plenty thanks for a wonderful vacation, while floating on my back cross-like, looking up at the bright blue heavens. Then it was rush to the airport, wait on the plane to Trinidad. Get to Trinidad, go through security again, then being pushed to the departure gate in a wheelchair. Yes Friends, the ole fella now uses a wheelchair in the airports cause I can’t handle the long walks to and from the planes, the gates and baggage carousels. Still can’t get accustomed to it though – shall we say, a li’l bit of foolish, macho pride. (smile) However, while waiting for the plane, scheduled to leave at 2.35 p.m, T&T time, we were eventually informed that because of a delay in arrival, it would not be leaving until around 3 p.m. But it never left until minutes to four. And the five hours and some aboard the choky, almost full 737, were a bit much, testing my endurance and Christian spirit to the limit. Even my ears bothered me like never before, and still are occasionally bothering me, as I write this. But with the ever present help of the Good Lord, I managed to get through it all, without blowing a gasket. But on landing, I discovered that the wheelchair service in this great, first world metropolis of Toronto was disgusting, and that’s putting it mildly. First off, they didn’t have enough chairs for the passengers who needed them. Then they didn’t have enough agents, possibly 3, to handle the nine or ten wheelchairs needed. So it was push you here, then wait until they went back to get some others. Take you upstairs, then wait again. Then take you downstairs to the Customs area, where you had to wait again. Steups! And the sad part is that the lady supervising the scene had no people skills whatsoever, just kept saying that it was not her fault, and seemed more interested in writing down names to prove whom they had moved, so that the poorly run company, Service Air, or some such name, could be paid. The plane arrived in T.O around 8.20, and I didn’t get to the Customs area until after nine. By then my wife, who had my Customs declaration form had already gone through, after being wrongly informed that the wheelchair passengers had gone through before her. Hn, hn! So you can imagine the ole fella’s unhappiness. But thankfully, I didn’t quite lose it, though I certainly made my disgust at the poor service known. Wonder of wonders though, in backward T&T, the wheelchair service was excellent. I had to shake my head to see if I was dreaming, they were so nice and efficient. So by the time I got out of the airport and got a limo in the damp, drizzly, but spring-like temp, I didn’t arrive home until after ten. Chuh! But our God is truly wonderful, and brought me through it all in one piece, as He’s promised to always do. The problem though is that now I need a holiday to recover from the holiday. But isn’t that the way it always is.  Anyway Friends, I think that was the second best vacation I ever had. Number one will always be one in Jamaica, down in Trelawney, some twenty years ago. That beats everything else simply because of the physical things we did, like climbing Duns River Falls, and partying in the nearby hotel disco till all hours of the morning. We just can’t do that highly physical stuff any more. But enough about my woes, let’s turn to our Bit and proudly and faithfully acknowledge the awesome might and power of our most LOVING God, in Jeremiah’s prayer. ‘Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard (difficult) for thee.’ Undoubtedly gospel truth my people! Now let’s check out some scriptures that reinforce the two infallible truths that are stated there. And as regards the Lord’s great power and His creating the universe, listen to the opening statement of Hezekiah’s prayer, one of Israel’s most godly kings, in the time of upcoming war. ‘And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.’ (2 Kin.19:15) Hezekiah definitely showed immense trust and faith in the God of his fathers to protect and save Israel. Now hear the psalmist’s faithful declaration in his cry of distress: ‘I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure(continue): yea, all of them shall wax (grow) old like a garment: as a vesture (cloak) shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.’ (Ps.102:24-27) Oh Friends, time and space are against us, but we can certainly learn about the grace and protection of our faithful God from those who have gone before us. I ask us today, to ponder our individual relationships to Almighty God, and do whatever it takes to improve them, for that’s wisdom at its highest. Much LOVE!…until we truly know Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Father…we won’t be able to truly appreciate them…   P.S. Sorry this is so late, but the ole fella’s still shaking it somewhat rough from all of yesterday’s strenuous activities. (smile)