What difference does it make, anyway; if any?
In my case, I was like most people; overstressed about
too many things to do and not enough time to get them all done yesterday. Yes,
I was in a hurry!
Consequently I pulled into my driveway, slammed the gearshift into Parking Gear and hurried in the house – only to discover later that my parked car coasted down the street backwards, ricocheted off the curb and finally planted its solid frame tight against the neighbor’s cement block retaining wall.
My parked car had rolled down the street, crossed a T-intersection, and parked itself while in neutral gear with all four doors locked. My hurried exit and harried behavior could have resulted in a devastating expense, created bad relations with an unknown neighbor, or proved injurious to a pedestrian or a moving vehicle.
Damages, however, proved slight. I had a slightly-damaged fender, but no damages otherwise. I sighed with relief but still—it was terribly depressing.
This was more stress than I needed when I was already in a work overload. Yet, I had to face it; this could have been much worse. Consequently, when I began counting my blessings, my day brightened considerably.
The Apostle Paul recognized our need to look beyond days partly-cloudy interspersed with misty circumstances that often accompany partly-sunny days. He declared, “Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:16-7 NIV).
Sadie Smithson remains little known, but she illustrates Paul’s wisdom. This humble seamstress existed entirely outside the socially elite inner circles of the Laurel Literary Society, and she wanted in more than anything in life. Driven by this single overwhelming desire, she scrimped and scraped until she accumulated enough cash savings to take a European tour—only to be caught in Belgium by World War One.
Sadie attempted to escape by hiring an Army Officer to drive her to Paris. While en route, she discovered she was trapped on a battlefield. As she continued her attempts to escape, she saw a shadowy figure crying out into the darkness, “Water, for God’s sake, water!”
Scarcely realizing the enormity of her actions, she stopped. Helping the wounded soldier resulted in spending the rest of the night ripping bandages from her skirt helping whoever she could find.
With the rising of the dawn, a Medical Officer found Sadie and demanded, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“I am Sadie Virginia Smithson,” she announced, “and I have been holding Hell back all night.”
Only later, and safely onboard ship and bound for home, did Sadie recount her harrowing adventure. On hearing her story, one of Sadie’s friends casually remarked, “Well. The Laurel Society will surely be glad enough now to have you belong.”
To this, the greatly matured young woman, replied, “But you don’t understand; I’ve been born again. Do you reckon any of those things matter now?”
So, I ask again; what do you think? “What difference does it really make, anyway?”
Consequently I pulled into my driveway, slammed the gearshift into Parking Gear and hurried in the house – only to discover later that my parked car coasted down the street backwards, ricocheted off the curb and finally planted its solid frame tight against the neighbor’s cement block retaining wall.
My parked car had rolled down the street, crossed a T-intersection, and parked itself while in neutral gear with all four doors locked. My hurried exit and harried behavior could have resulted in a devastating expense, created bad relations with an unknown neighbor, or proved injurious to a pedestrian or a moving vehicle.
Damages, however, proved slight. I had a slightly-damaged fender, but no damages otherwise. I sighed with relief but still—it was terribly depressing.
This was more stress than I needed when I was already in a work overload. Yet, I had to face it; this could have been much worse. Consequently, when I began counting my blessings, my day brightened considerably.
The Apostle Paul recognized our need to look beyond days partly-cloudy interspersed with misty circumstances that often accompany partly-sunny days. He declared, “Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:16-7 NIV).
Sadie Smithson remains little known, but she illustrates Paul’s wisdom. This humble seamstress existed entirely outside the socially elite inner circles of the Laurel Literary Society, and she wanted in more than anything in life. Driven by this single overwhelming desire, she scrimped and scraped until she accumulated enough cash savings to take a European tour—only to be caught in Belgium by World War One.
Sadie attempted to escape by hiring an Army Officer to drive her to Paris. While en route, she discovered she was trapped on a battlefield. As she continued her attempts to escape, she saw a shadowy figure crying out into the darkness, “Water, for God’s sake, water!”
Scarcely realizing the enormity of her actions, she stopped. Helping the wounded soldier resulted in spending the rest of the night ripping bandages from her skirt helping whoever she could find.
With the rising of the dawn, a Medical Officer found Sadie and demanded, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“I am Sadie Virginia Smithson,” she announced, “and I have been holding Hell back all night.”
Only later, and safely onboard ship and bound for home, did Sadie recount her harrowing adventure. On hearing her story, one of Sadie’s friends casually remarked, “Well. The Laurel Society will surely be glad enough now to have you belong.”
To this, the greatly matured young woman, replied, “But you don’t understand; I’ve been born again. Do you reckon any of those things matter now?”
So, I ask again; what do you think? “What difference does it really make, anyway?”
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