Fall Specials

You know the economy is under stress when Sturgis shirts are going for three bucks. Probably knock-offs from China. One of those "must have" things in life that I've been able to not have. So far... There seem to be more and more of those things that I've been able to get by without. Never owned a pickup, a beer sign, a microwave oven, a cable box, a boat, an alarm system, a riding mower, personal watercraft, snowmobile or RV. Have never owned a Harley but do own a '73 Honda 500 Four. Should be the last motorcycle I ever own.

Our lawn mower is also a '73. Bought it new and have worn out one set of wheels already. Still going. Should be the only lawn mower I'll ever own. I don't pay any attention to spring specials on those. No need.

But fall has me thinking about other things. Time to preserve the lawn mower and garden tiller for winter storage. Maybe time to think about long-term storage for my aging body.

Passed up a good deal in Nebraska last month. Fremont Monument Co. was having a fall special on gravestones. Maybe I should get three.

Or, gee, I could go to Costco and maybe get a shrink wrapped pallet load of 10 for a better price.

Just never thought about a fall special on monuments before. But I guess they know what they are doing. It's one of few businesses I remember from my childhood that's still around in the town where I was born.

But I don't ever want a monument or anything that takes up sapce on God's good earth. I want to return to it as naturally as possible, given our crowded and regulated life today. Time to write those instructions specifically since I'm certainly in the autumn of my life. Spring and summer are past. Fall and winter remain.

God, help me to live each day so that my life becomes a monument--a memorial to You--rather than a piece of stone or a piece of land. I know you as Creator of all. I believe in the resurrection and a glorified body that will bear as much resemblance to my dying one as a blooming tree bears to the seed from which it sprang. This re-creation requires no spare parts temporarily preserved in formaldehyde, steel, concrete and buried under feet of soil.

It requires only your hands, your power, your steadfast and undying love. Fall specials that run all year.

Thanks, God!

Roger