Life Truths

This week it was announced in the local paper that a company close by layed-off 350 employees. The sad part is that they showed up to work on Monday morning and had no clue. One minute their drinking orange juice or Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee and the next minute they are finding out about their severance package and told to go home. They didn’t even finish the day! My heart broke for them as it does for many who are trying to figure out how to insure their families and put groceries on the table.

But perhaps most troubling of all was the awful news report I read today! Tragic! Kevin Bacon told a reporter that he will need to do more acting to maintain his lifestyle. He lost some money in that Bernie Madoff thingy and things are tight in the Bacon/Sedgewick home. Kyra (his wife – remember the move “Singles”?) is only pulling in $300,000 an episode for her current hit show, “The Closer”. Man! $300K!?? I guess someone is shopping at SuperWalmart this week. Maybe Kevin is putting out the SOS on some future jobs because food stamps are his next option. Or maybe he’s a traditionalist and doesn’t want his wife to be the breadwinner.

It reminded me that I need to keep my priorities right and my mouth shut. There is always someone else worse off than you and for that we each carry a responsibility to lend a hand up. The Bacon home’s $4.5 million this year is someone else’s $14,500 a year. The Bible says in 1 Thess. 5:16-18, “Always be joyful; pray constantly; and for all things give thanks; this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” Take time today to thank God for the good things you have and pray for those without (like Kevin Bacon).

Today I enjoyed perhaps my favorite type of cuisine. Now I’ve enjoyed a lot of very nice meals so far in my life. Lobster off the boat in Maine. Filet stuffed with Maryland blue crab. My mom’s chicken pot pie. But rarely does it come close to touching my lunch today. Tucked away at the town square in downtown Lancaster, PA, when the weather starts to touch something resembling warmth you’ll find a wagon on wheels that is filled with boiled hot dogs! I was so excited to spend my $1.50 on this delicious treat that I pranced around the square like a child on Christmas morning.
Now some people might say to themselves, “Dude, is that the best you could do? A barf dog as cuisine?” And my response would be that one man’s simple pleasure is another man’s Disney World.
The bible speaks to finding pleasure in life’s simplicities. Proverbs 16:8 (NLT) “Better to have little, with godliness, than to be rich and dishonest.” It’s not so much about what we have than what we make of it. Live life not distracted but what you don’t have but rather focused on the simple blessings that you do.