Happy Birthday, David!

The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ (Deuteronomy 1:30-31 ESV). Happy Birthday Dave! Today, my son David is 34 years old. I really don’t know where the time went! And it causes me to reminisce a little. Those thoughts I won’t bore you with; however, with a little research I discovered that another interesting event took place on April 2nd. The Radio sitcom Life of Riley debuted on this day in 1941. The show starred William Bendix as a bullheaded family man. The show ran for 10 years on radio and about six years on television. Chester A. Riley was sort of an American everyman who worked at the local aircraft plant with his buddies in California. He got into some really funny situations usually based on some crazy misunderstandings. His attractive loving wife, Peg, was the voice of reason in the family, and kept Riley from totally getting out of control. His son, Junior, sometimes counteracted what his father said to add to the comedy. Babs, his daughter, tolerated but always loved her bumbling father, who always had the best intentions. Jim Gillis, was Riley's best friend, his neighbor, and co-worker at the aircraft plant. His wife was Honeybee, who at times could be outspoken. It was among the top twenty-five most watched programs in the fifties. The catchphrase developed by Bendix for this character is perhaps the most remembered from the series. When Riley found himself overwhelmed by seemingly small matters often escalated to near disaster he would say, “What a revoltin’ development this is!” Of course, Peg would step in about that time and bring calm and order to the situation. All of my children have taught me many things. In fact, they still cause me to stand in awe of the wonderful gifts they are from God. There are times when the simplest experiences become the most profound teachers. Just like the character in the Life of Riley I might find myself thinking that something is an insurmountable problem and God uses it as an opportunity to be the presence of calm and bring success to it. That thought brought me to today’s reading. God is a warrior on our behalf. Just as he cared for the nation of Israel throughout the wilderness experience, he cares for us. And he will care for you also. The key is trust. Throughout these nearly three and one-half decades I have found that in good times or bad, God has never left us. While the outcome may not have looked liked I anticipated God’s blessing always far exceeded any thoughts I might have had. He has cared for us in so many ways; it is hard to count them all! I can’t wait to see the next thirty-four years! Happy Birthday, Dave!