"Life Is Fleeting . . . "

"Life is fleeting; it just slips through your fingers. All vanishes like mist." - Ecclesiastes 12:8

As I write these words I'm reminded of Harold Schweizer’s book, On Waiting. An idea that he proposes is that when we are waiting for something, time is passing us by. Or at least, that’s what we think. But time doesn’t pass us by. Actually, he says, we are the ones that are passing by.

Mortality, the sense that time happens, that we are in time, and that our time will end, is responsible for much anxiety. The writer of Ecclesiastes had the same feeling. All is vanity. It’s all meaningless, because, in the end, we’re all going to die: “A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.” (Ecclesiastes 1:4)

And yet during our march past the constant, watching eyes of time, we are all destined, for at least one moment in our lives, with a confrontation with "The Truth". The truth of our mortality, our helplessness, and our sinful nature measured against the standard of the law of our Creator.

"NUTS!"

“Men, we are surrounded by the enemy. We have the greatest opportunity ever presented an army. We can attack in any direction.” - Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe

On December 22, 1944, at about 11:30 in the morning, a group of four German soldiers, waving two white flags, approached the American lines using the Arlon Road from the direction of Remoifosse, south of Bastogne. The group consisted of two officers and two enlisted men. 

The Americans defending in that location were members of F Company of the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. The Germans walked past a bazooka team in a foxhole in front of the Kessler farm and stopped in front of the foxhole of PFC Leo Palma, a B.A.R. gunner. The Germans explained that they had a written message to be presented to the American Commander in Bastogne.

They consented to being blindfolded and taken to the American Commanding Officer. In fact, they had brought blindfolds with them. The German surrender demand was typewritten on two sheets. One was in English, the other in German. They had been typed on an English typewriter as indicated by the fact that the diacritical marks required on the German copy had been entered by hand.

How To Approach A King . . .

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30\

We don't get a lot of insight into Jesus in the same way that we know and describe the fellow humans who reside in our circles. I mean, we know that he lived more than 2,000 years ago. And I realize that this is a basic stereotype, but he was Jewish so its probable that he had a long nose and dark hair. He was from the Middle East and spent the majority of his time outdoors so he likely had a dark complexion. But in regard to whether he was he tall, skinny, had brown or green eyes, we just don't know. And at this point we should reach the conclusion that God doesn't feel like Jesus's appearance was of great consequence as well. Because his appearance doesn’t really matter nearly as much as what he did for us does, and that’s why we’re grateful for him.

Yet, we are not without clues . . . 

The Greatness of Henry Mancini

 

One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting on our couch in our living room, with the sunlight dancing through our three bay windows, anchored on both sides by floor-to-ceiling handmade bookshelves, (crafted by my Dad) which of course contained books, our Encylopeidia collection, and our stereo amplifier, record player, and speakers. 

Sitting in the exact center of the couch, you could hear the different sounds coming from the left and the right speakers, a pretty new phenomena in the 60's, but one that was soon embraced by most of the music culture. Dad's record collection consisted of gospel, Elvis, Son's of the Pioneers, Henry Mancini, Boots Randolph, Roger Williams, and more. My personal favorites were Elvis and Henry Mancini. 

Mancini also composed some of the greatest soundtracks of the time, including Hatari, (my favorite) Creature from the Black Lagoon, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Pink Panther, and so many more. The music selection featured in the video is from the John Wayne movie, Hatari, which I highly recommend. 

Enjoy!