i have had to humble myself and seek the advice of my elders and fellow christians over the past couple of months. when i was younger i never really did this. my parents gave advice, but listening and taking that advice didn't always happen.
growing up my grandparents played a very important role in my brother and i's life. as i got older one of my favorite things to do was ask questions about what it was like for them growing up. they grew up during the depression and survived. they worked very hard, and had a very fulfilling life. i don't ever remember them complaining about how hard life was and what they didn't have. for one thing they had their faith to turn to. they didn't expect this country, or the world to give them what they needed.
my grandmother is now suffering from alzheimer's in her early 90's. she has had a long, beautiful life. she is one of the few individuals i know that probably has most of the bible memorized. two things stick out in my mind from one of those conversations that she said; "the problem is women decided to become men" and "the banks can always fail again." she has always encouraged each of her grandchildren to read the bible and learn from it.
there are very few individuals left from this generation, but the ones that are here knew how you should be living. out of the generations that i have seen in my lifetime, the WWII generation seemed to have the right idea about what it means to live.
i have copied a speech given by a WWII veteran that attends our church. he gave this talk to a group of students at a local high school here in houston. i think it could apply to everyone in this country no matter what your age is.
"young ladies and gentlemen. you are the future of the united states of america, the greatest country in the world. i am here to teach you to be positive. i can do that if you will follow my instructions. i wish i had this talk when i was your age, but i didn't. i had to learn mine the hard way.
about eight years, i fell out of a large oak tree in our back yard; about 40 feet. my wife, marilyn, heard me hit the ground and came running out the back door calling my name. i didn't answer her because i was trying to get up, but couldn't. she knew something was wrong, so she ran in the house and called 911. the police got there first; one held down my arms and the other held down my legs. the ambulance arrived and loaded me in it to take me to the trauma center at memorial herman hospital.
dr. amelia mangum examined me and told my wife i probably would not make it through the night. i had a broken back, multiple broken ribs and a severe head injury. at about 4:00 am they decided they would have to operate. a broken rib had poked a hole in my aorta and the bleeding would not stop. they had given me several blood transfusions. dr mangum said she didn't know if i would make it through the surgery, but she had to operate. she told my wife i probably wouldn't live through the day.
i spent 4 months in the hospital and several months in rehab. before i fell out of the tree, i would get down in the dumps two or three times a year. when i got home i knew that i couldn't get down in the dumps anymore. in the morning when i got up i would say to myself "i'm going to be positive today." at noon time i would say, "i'm going to stay positive the rest of the day." i did this for about thirty days.
after that i didn't have to say it anymore because i was automatically positive all the time. even when i'm sick i am positive. you don't get sick as much and you feel better all the time. your friends look at you better too.
if you follow these instructions you will be positive too."
JESUS wants you to stay positive and have faith that all things are because of HIM. no matter what life throws at you, you must have hope that all things will work out.
"know therefore that the LORD YOUR GOD IS GOD; he is a faithful GOD, keeping HIS covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love HIM and keep his commands." deuteronomy 7:9
"be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD." psalm 31:24
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