1 Corinthians 2:9-10a

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit”

Over a decade ago, in 2003, I was forwarded a message. It was titled, I Can’t Believe We Made It! I’m not sure exactly where it came from or who the author of this great piece is, but I found myself laughing when I first read it…and laughing as I read it now. It’s talking about kids growing up during an era when everything was brand new and yet still so much to be discovered. The sky was the limit. Heroes were real people, and yes, there were the original Marvel comics, too. The 50s were the days I grew up in when life was truly an adventure. I was a young boy living it to the fullest. For me, life was at its best…nothing to worry about and everything to gain. (Note: I’m including the whole article as it was forwarded to me—not all items may be my own personal take on matters).

“According to today’s regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s or even the early 80s, probably shouldn’t have survived. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint.

We had no childproof lids or locks on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors!

We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms.

We had friends! We went outside and found them.

We played dodgeball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt.

We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents?

We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out any eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door, rang the bell, or just walked in and TALKED to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Some students weren’t as smart as others, so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade.

Horrors!

Tests were not adjusted for any reason.

Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected.

The idea of parents bailing us out if we got in trouble in school or broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the school or the law. Imagine that!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors, ever.

We had freedom, failure, success, and responsibility and we learned how to deal with it.

And you’re one of them! Congratulations. . . !”

Have you ever stopped to think about how you ever made it to where you are today? How you got here and who led and guided you along the way? Looking back, I see angels hovering over me and a BIG God who was watching over me for my good. Sure, I could easily say to myself, I did it all on my own, but I have come to know better. I can honestly say that if someone would have told me in my early years about this big God who had a plan for me and where I’d later be in my 60s, I would have thought they were nuts!

As I sit in silence before the Lord, when no one else is around…when all I hear is my heart beating…when I pause the button to ponder my life’s journey, I am overwhelmed when I realize this marvelous God, whom I have come to know, has carried me all the way in my life to this day. What an incredible thought! “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps (Proverbs 16:9).” There is purpose and reason for our life and you and I are valued by the living God who loves us so much that He has and continues to watch over us. Even when I didn’t know there was a God to know, He revealed himself to me by his Spirit.

Back in those mid-fifties and sixties days there were many great heroes: Mighty Mouse, Secret Squirrel, The Lone Ranger, Zorro, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (who actually came to my elementary school and did a show on their horses!), John Wayne with his great cowboy epics…wow, what a thrilling life I had. So what was I going to be when I grew up? It was a big question for such a little boy to even contemplate, but one that all kids attempt to answer. When I was in third grade, something was said to me that would stick with me for many years down the road; something that would later come to fruition.

My Uncle Ray lived in a house next to ours in the country. As I played in the backyard, Uncle Ray called me over and said, “Robertio, you are going to be a preacher when you grow up!” I can recall looking up at this towering man of almost six and half feet and wondering, what is a preacher? Did I miss a superhero named, “Preacher?” None of us knew God, at least that’s what I always thought, but for whatever reason, these words were spoken out loud to me and looking back I know that at that moment in time, God was working behind the scenes for my good.

Later that day, I asked my wise mother, “What is a preacher?” We didn’t go to church in those days, but mom knew that a preacher was one who told others about God. For me, that was enough. Her response that day satisfied me and off I ran to enjoy the freedom of country living. Little did I know that this latent and lingering comment would one day transform into reality in my life. I thank my Uncle Ray for speaking words over me that never left my thoughts even to this day.

What you speak daily into the hearts and minds of your children and/or other individuals that God has placed into your life, no matter their age, will reap benefits untold IF you plant goodness and love in their heart. Speak a good word into them every day. They will live out what they hear from you (we all know about self-fulfilled prophecy). It’s been said, “They will become what you tell them they will be.”

Well, my Uncle Ray, on that early morning in my backyard, spoke to me a word I never really understood as I grew up until a preacher man, Pastor Jones, shared with my wife and I about Jesus Christ. From that moment forward, Uncle Ray’s prophecy over me blossomed into reality and here I sit today recognizing that there is a loving God who loves me and desires for you and me to know him through his Son. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:8-9).”

Joyce Meyers, says it so well, “We all have challenges in life, but we can make them better or worse by the way we talk about them. I don’t believe we can change all of our circumstances into pleasant ones by making positive confessions, but I do believe many of them will change according to God’s will. I simply want to teach you to be in agreement with God and learn to say what He says. One thing is for sure, speaking negatively could hurt you and speaking positively never will, so why not go with the positive and see what kind of results you get?”

Let us touch the hearts of our children while they are young and tender—still able and desiring to hear and accept as well as anyone that we come into contact with. Let us build each other up in the name of the Lord.

Proverbs 12:18-19a “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure forever…”

Proverbs 15:30 “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.”

Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

Proverbs 20:12 “Ears that hear and eyes that see— the Lord has made them both.”