Happy Birthday!

We are in Florida.  We came down for a gig and are staying a few extra days.  The guys are working on projects and I am mainly reading.  We have a few friends in the area down here, so have been having them in for meals, but other than that, we don't have a lot of plans for these few extra days.

Tommy DID celebrate his 73rd birthday here on Saturday, and he decided that all he wanted to do was go to IKEA and get his free meal.  IKEA does this and we always take advantage.  We didn't go on his actual birthday, but went the day after.  I have never seen it so packed!  (This is in the midst of the coronavirus!)

This has been a very unusual trip for us in many ways.  For one thing, I feel like I am in a foreign land because of all the hype about the virus.  When I am out, I look at people wondering...do they have it?

 We always go to the store when we get here and I wasn't even thinking about the virus scare...just doing my shopping like always.  We were in Walmart and I said "why are they stocking shelves in the middle of the day?"  Every aisle was packed with boxes and clerks unpacking them.  Then it hit me!  The Coronavirus!  When we got to the toilet paper aisle, it was completely bare and there were no new boxes to stock!  I just started laughing.  I asked myself why in the world is toilet paper the main thing disappearing?  My friend "awesome" Audrey, made a comment in a recent e mail, that as far as she knew, the coronavirus doesn't involve excessive pooping!

I am not making light of the virus.  But I have reflected through all of this what it is that makes people panic.  I recently saw an interview with a man who predicted the date and time of the second coming of Christ.  I think it was in the 70's.  A lot of people were gathered in Times Square in NY, and the news was there interviewing him.  People all around him were holding signs stating the exact date and time.  The time was 6 p.m.  As 6 p.m.  approached the newsman asked the man who had predicted the end, what he would say if the Lord didn't come back.  He said that that wouldn't happen.

Of course the Lord didn't come back.  The Bible tells us that no one knows...not even the angels in heaven.  That doesn't stop people from predicting.  It happens over and over.

I was thinking about that yesterday.  The Bible doesn't tell us the date or time, but it does tell us to be ready.  We are to be watchful because we don't know. 

It's the same thing with this virus.  There will always be scares like this.  I remember years ago, I just knew that the killer bees were going to attack at any time.

I believe that we have a choice no matter what the scare is....we can panic, or we can trust.  I choose to trust.  Psalm 46

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