You Never Know

 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13 ESV).

 

Dr. Seuss is credited with the wonderful quote: “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” That has proven to be true over and over in my experience. The people I’ve met, the places I’ve been, and the things I’ve experienced over the last seven decades were often commonplace. They were good, but nothing that I thought could never be duplicated. Something as simple as a brilliant sunset on a cool summer’s evening is certainly nothing “special.” Or, is it? After all, no two sunsets are ever the same.

 

I do the same thing with extraordinary experiences sometimes. I have a mount of a largemouth bass in our family room. We were living in Huntsville, Texas, in the late 1970’s and I wanted to run out to a farm where I had permission to fish so that I could catch a few fish for some friends who were coming over. It was a cool December and my thought was that I could get out there, catch four or small bass, and be home in plenty of time to filet them and grill them for dinner. For some reason the fish were not biting at all. No matter what I tried my “honey-hole” was not working. Just as I was about to run out of time I casted across the mouth of the spring that fed the pond and a few exciting minutes later I landed and 8½ pound monster bass. With hybrids and warm water lakes so common today, that’s not a very big bass, but then, it was huge. I got home and was immediately asked if I caught anything. I said, “Just this one…” and lifted the bass out of the cooler. I was going to filet it and cook it, though they talked me out of it so that I could take it to the taxidermist to preserve it. Of course, I am very glad I did. As it turns out, that was the biggest Texas bass I’ve ever caught. As wonderful as that experience was, I don’t really dwell on it very often. I almost take it for granted.

 

I wonder if we do something similar with the incredible experiences we have with God. For example, Paul points out some wonderful gifts from God in the blessing we read here today, and I wonder if we hear those words about joy and peace and then just tuck that thought away thinking that is commonplace. It is not! God has gifted us with the ability to experience hope and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit. That is miraculous and undeserved. Take some time today to cherish the things of God in your life. His presence is our greatest treasure!