Snoopy

Mighty Tempting To Take A Winter Holiday But – Don’t Do It!

Ed, my neighbor next door, has dismissed the idea of going to Mexico, Arizona or any of the other winter holiday destinations. My neighbor after extensive snooping into travel prices has concluded that this is a year that everyone should stay home. According to Ed, it is too expensive for anyone to travel to warmer climates. I mentioned that I had talked to a lot of folks going to islands of the Caribbean and Mexico this year, so maybe, Ed missed some good prices for travel. My neighbor assured me that when it comes to finding the cost of stuff, no one can beat him. Ed told me that if something is too expensive in his opinion, then it is too expensive for everyone.

Ed may be certain that winter holiday travel is too expensive this year, but many people are still traveling for vacations, in spite of, what my neighbor thinks. Ed said that holiday travelers should be sorry for over spending this season. I doubt if the vacation travelers will see it that way, but once Ed gets his mind made up about something then dynamite will not change it. Once we have formed an opinion and made up our minds, we tend to be like Ed, in that, it takes powerful persuasion for us to change our minds. Changing in any way is easier said than done.

Julie Kliger an ER nurse (emergency room nurse) in an inner city hospital for many years wrote that lives change from events beyond people’s control. Regularly, the emergency department of a hospital deals with people who have been turned around from their normal life. Having a heart attack or a stroke, sustaining an accidental cut or wound, breaking a bone, receiving a dog bite, and going into early labor etc., all change folks in minutes and hours. Many that come to the hospital will be shaken but able to handle the change that has turned their lives upside down. After years of helping, treating and watching emergency room patients, she speaks of how we often refuse to change this way. “I learned that we are creatures of habit and will do the same thing tomorrow even if what we are doing today lands us in the ER.”

As Christians, we may ignore the truth that Jesus came to call sinners to repentance. Repentance is a call to change or turn around and go towards God rather than away from him. It also means to believe that we are sinners in need of God’s love, forgiveness and a way of life that honors God not ourselves. Jonah, a prophet in the Old Testament was called to go to Nineveh, and warn the people that God was going to overthrow their city. Instead of going to Nineveh as God instructed, Jonah went in the opposite direction.  Jonah had his reasons for disobeying God. He found that he could not get away from what God called him to do. Repentance is our realization that we have been going in the opposite direction to where God is directing us to be. God’s word has the power of dynamite to change us and to get us going in God’s direction.

Sharing is caring!

News Reporter

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *