In the Twinkling of an Eye

Not so many years ago and I heard sermons about the Rapture of the saved, I thought of the chaos and mass confusion that would be caused when so many people vanished without explanation. I thought of the pandemonium that would be created by the sudden disappearance of so many people and how it would be totally unexplainable. I imagined people might once again fear God, but today when I see more and more television programs, books, and movies are presenting possible explanations of the Rapture before it can occur.

There are some channels that constantly share that in the history of human beings aliens from other planets, worlds, and dimensions have visited Earth and have changed the human race. They suggest the aliens created humans to be their slaves and altered the DNA of humans. These alien beings have shared their knowledge of machines to build cities and perform metallurgy beyond human ken. Who could expect primitive people to do brain surgery, to have a language, or to calculate days and years with mathematical accuracy?

Television has programs share stories of ghosts, demons, and spirits; creatures from the darkness and spawns of Hell. There are those who go out of their way to commune with these beings to have access and allow accessibility for Satan’s minions to lure the unsuspecting public. Today’s leaders will be in a quandary as to how to explain the amount of vanishing people the world. Grounded by Satan laying the groundwork, and will be explained by the “intellectual elite” by using a fabricated theory of time travel or aliens from other planets and worlds.

Oh sure, there will be pandemonium when vehicles crash, airliners fall from the skies, doctors and nurses leave the bedsides of sickly patients. There will be chaos when morticians, garbage collectors, and employees who regulate machinery to provide electricity, gas, and oil have gone missing, but the resulting turmoil will force souls left behind to make one of two choices; either to turn to God the Creator and Redeemer OR to turn a one-world government with Satan’s chosen at the helm. Those who seek comfort from the government will be facing the awesome, all-powerful anger of the LORD God. Multiple bottled vials plagues and death will be poured out, one after another as the punishment for sin and  is meted out from a wrathful God is unleashed.

Saved saints will already be safely caught away and living in heaven. The Bible says “in the twinkling of an eye” the ransomed will be snatched away from the anger of and almighty God. Where will you be?  Have you accepted Jesus as Savior?

 

 

Just a Little Means So Much

The older I get, the more I notice that many times it is the small things in life that people do mean so much to someone else. Small gestures of kindness may go a long way. Things that I automatically do may influence those around me. I sometimes will see sad-faced people while I’m out shopping and by saying “Good morning” or as I pull my shopping cart beside theirs, I say, “Do you want to race?” then I watch their frowns change into a smile. Even if it’s only for a few seconds, to me it’s worth it. One motto that I use is, “If I can’t make someone smile, I may as well stay at home.”

When my neighbors Fred and Doretta Brown were alive, I would gather mail from their mailbox and carry it to their kitchen door. Both were older and had health problems. It was no big deal for me, but I know they appreciated it. In the summer when I would mow my lawn, I’d circle my mower over to their lawn and mow it as well. It took a little more time and a bit of gas, but I liked to see our lawns looking nice. I didn’t want theirs to look ragged and uncared for. A few times when my mower was on the blink, they had their grandsons do my lawn as well. That was certainly welcome and greatly appreciated.

I didn’t shovel snow from their driveway. It was a struggle enough to keep mine clear, especially after the Pennsylvania Transportation Department snowplows drove by. They often refilled my driveway just after I’d finished opening my drive. Sometimes after the winter storms would dump heavy snows and strong winds would cause thick drifts, there were neighbors who owned machines with either plows or scoop buckets on the front. They would clear my driveway as well as many other drives along our road. That was such a blessing.

I was able to help pass out food boxes to veterans Monday. I enjoyed seeing these men and women getting recognition for their service to America. Some could barely shuffle as they got out of their cars, but all drove away with a full trunk and a smile on their faces. I smiled too, sharing that feeling.

I guess what sent my thinking down this path was I cooked several meals for my friend’s daughter who had eye surgery. I knew that she and her mom would have a long, tiring, and probably frustrating day. It was just small gesture, but they wouldn’t arrive home and have to make something to eat. It would already be done. They could kick back and relax.

Kinks

Monday was another day where one promise was interrupted by an appointment. I’ve shared before that a person backed his truck into the front of my car in the Wal-Mart parking lot and the visits I made to have the damage evaluated and reserving a rental vehicle. Yesterday was the day the collision center had me drop off my car for repairs, then I went next door to retrieve my rental vehicle. I’d already promised a friend that I’d help pass out food boxes for our local veterans. I managed to integrate the two fairly easily, but was worried over the weekend that things might not go well. I couldn’t break my promise to help our veterans who have done so much for us and I needed to have my car repaired.

I arrived early to help unload the food and other items. Placing the full palettes into a logical sequence for distribution is the key, then assigning one person to carry that specific item to the veteran’s vehicle. The good news is that all went smoothly and I was only away for about thirty minutes. When I returned, people were already arriving and quickly it was rush hour. We were inundated by the number of veterans arriving. Veterans had to preregister, and sign for the boxes of food, drink, and yes…we even had toilet paper. We did run out of TP before the last person came. Fruit, vegetables, dry goods, frozen food, milk, bags of onions, apples, and snacks were carried out to the vehicles. Many of the veterans were older, some barely able to shuffle inside to sign for their supplies. There were a few who couldn’t leave their cars and the relative would sign the roster. It was great to see the smiles on the veteran’s faces as we filled their trunks of their cars. It gave me a pleasant, warm feeling to see them being honored for their service. We did have one complaint. A woman pulled her car into the lot, but it was a bit farther away and we missed seeing her. Several other vehicles pulled in much closer and we serviced them. When she complained, I quickly began to deliver her supplies. As I walked one box to her car, she said, “I’m pissed.” I replied, “Then I’m glad that we have toilet paper today.” I don’t think she wanted to hear that and said, “That’s not funny.” Other than that, six hours went very quickly.

Tuesday I walked for nearly an hour and got my hair cut. I’m still sore from the lifting and the walking, but the aching means I’m still alive. I’m praying I can work the kinks out.

 

 

A Brush with Death

Ken, a friend of mine, fellow church member, and co-worker with our church’s teen van ministry gave me permission to share the story of his accident and near-death experience. He’s even made a Gospel tract sharing his testimony to the goodness of God. The accident occurred June 2021. His family was helping him haul loads of manure with the manure spreader. The spreader wasn’t running properly and he was unloading by hand. With a new load, Ken climbed into the spreader with his back towards the beater bars. He didn’t realize he’d not disengaged the beaters. Two of the three and a half inch teeth grabbed his pant leg, dug into his leg, and pulled it into the machinery. He yelled “STOP.” His grandson was driving the tractor and stopped immediately.

Ken pulled out his pocket knife cutting the pants to relieve the pressure. Ken’s grandson fetched a crescent wrench to lessen the machine’s pressure, while Ken’s son called 911. A neighbor heard the noise and came to help. Another neighbor was an EMT and soon joined them. Ken’s wife went to the road to direct the ambulance. When the ambulance arrived the EMT’s husband was also an EMT and was on the ambulance. Firemen soon arrived. People were able to reposition Ken’s foot and hold back the beater bars. Unable to remove his leg from the teeth without damaging his leg further, the firemen used a Sawzall to cut away the angle irons of the teeth holding his leg.

After 20 or 30 minutes the crew was able to extricate him. Ken says, “It was only by the grace of God that I was able to hold on that long without passing out.” The ambulance couldn’t climb the steep hill and he had to be carried to the top of the hayfield and loaded into a waiting helicopter. There were at least 20 people there helping him. He said, “I had no fear and had a peace about me.”

The helicopter delivered him to Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh and after x-rays and a CAT scan he was finally wheeled into the operating room at 2:00 am. Anesthetized, his wounds were cleaned, packed with gauze, and several staples, leaving the wound open to drain.

He still walks with a slight limp, but he praises God and is thankful for all his neighbors and those who responded to his accident. He could have lost more blood, lost his leg, been crippled or died, but God protected him. He claims Isaiah 41:13, “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” He’d been reading the Gospel tract, “Is this your Last Day?” His message to you, “Do you know your destiny after death?”

 

Passing Thoughts

As I awakened this morning, I was hit with the feeling of concern, “What do I write about today and what do I share with my friends?” Sometimes thoughts or recollections swiftly rise and flow into meaningful and entertaining articles. I’ve been writing and sharing since 2013. I began posting every day. That became too heavy a burden and shared on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It gave my brain a chance to remember something or an event to happen in my rather routine life. Always at the back of my mind was the thought of Alzheimer’s disease. My mother Sybil Miner Beck, her five sisters, and several cousins have fallen prey to this insidious malady. That is why I write. I want my family will be able to pass on those memories, even if I am unable.

I watched my grandfather Raymond Miner as gray a fog slowly assaulted him. His disease was dementia. He struggled all his life to provide for his wife Rebecca Rugg Miner and his eight children; laboring on his farm during the day and working in a coal mine at night. Even as dementia claimed his mind, his desire to care for his animals would often appear. Grandma would have to keep a close watch on his wanderings.

I think the history of their loss of remembrances causes me to struggle with trying to dredge as much as I can from my memories before the windows of my brain’s bank vault closes and says, “Insufficient funds.” There are times when so many things roll unimpeded through my brain as I decide whether to climb out of bed. Words flow like an Artesian well, bubbling out in a seeming unending flow, but it’s too early, I roll over for a bit more sleep. Sometimes it caps the well and the flow disappears.

Thoughts of smells and aromas pushed forward this morning, not that smells from my past are so important, but that they still exist as part of my memories full package. They just wait to be dragged to the surface. The reason may be that all evening as I tried to settle down to sleep, I smelled something. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was persistent. I wandered through my house sniffing here and there without finding the source. Now I face a dilemma. Is it a real odor or is it a phantom smell? Since my fall on the ice in 2015 causing bleeds in my brain, I have phantom smells. It’s strange. I want to keep the memories of past intact with their aromas attached, but I don’t want them corrupted with false smells. SIGH