Getting what we don't deserve

It really seemed as if he had gotten away with it.  For almost forty years Clarence Moore had lived as a free man after escaping from a North Carolina prison where he was serving an eleven year sentence for larceny. But last week the sixty-six year old fugitive voluntarily turned himself in.  It seems that while Moore wasn’t that great of a criminal, he was put in prison several times but he was pretty good at escaping. His third & last escape happened in 1976.

Was it a change in heart, a sudden desire to do the right thing that caused Moore to surrender to the authorities in Kentucky where he had lived for the past six years under an assumed name?  Nothing so noble.

The reason he finally gave up his life as a fugitive was based on economics and for the free medical care in prison.  Mr. Moore had suffered a stroke that left him partly paralyzed and was unable to obtain adequate medical care without a valid social security number.  He’s hoping North Carolina will welcome back its prodigal son.

And that is what grace is for the Christian; the point that we recognized our need for help and surrendered ourselves in order to receive what we can’t obtain on our own. 

Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

A Sense of Entitlement?

Sometimes we hear folks describe the youth of today as having a “sense of entitlement”, but that really isn’t anything new.  I’m sure Adam and Eve had that discussion about their children and Socrates must have had that in mind over two thousand years ago when he wrote “Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households.”

But the some of the men and women in the Upper Chamber who have been in the news lately have added a whole new dimension to the term a “sense of entitlement”. The highlight was when Senator Nancy Ruth complained about a breakfast served on a flight saying “Well those breakfasts are pretty awful. If you want ice-cold Camembert with broken crackers, have it.”  The last time I had breakfast on a flight I paid $7.50 for a warmed up breakfast sandwich. 

And while we aren’t responsible for the way the Duffys, Wallins and Ruths view what they have in life, we are responsible for our response to what we have.  So in moving ahead with our lives, let’s view where we are spiritually and economically with a sense of gratitude and not a sense of entitlement and figure out how we can share what we have, both spiritually and economically, with those who have less. 

Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Cruise of a Lifetime

I don’t know if the plan had been for it to be a three hour cruise but it turned into a 66 day nightmare. Louis Jordan had set sail for a few days of fishing but what was supposed to be a routine trip on his 35 foot sailboat named “Angel” turned into anything but. 

When the inexperienced sailor got caught unaware by heavy seas, his boat capsized, breaking her mast, ruining the on-board communication equipment and leaving Jordan with a broken shoulder.  That was in January and it was the last that anyone heard from Angel or it’s crew.  Last week “Angel” was spotted 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina by a German container ship with Louis Jordan sitting on its overturned hull.

In interviews, the survivor spoke of drinking rainwater and eating fish he attracted from under his boat with seaweed and then caught in a dip net.  But ultimately he credits his survival to his faith and the Bible that he kept on board.  Jordan told one reporter “’Every day I was like, 'Please God, send me some rain, send me some water.’” 

And the refreshing thing is that it appeared that God and Louis were on speaking terms long before the storm.  Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.