Some Things Never Change
My roommate these last couple of days here in Calgary has been John Kreklo (another John K), our National Alpha for Prisons Director. Sometimes when speaking to people at our Alpha table at the ACOP Congress, I introduce us saying, "Hi, I'm John with Alpha Canada and this is the other John with Alpha Canada (a la the old Bob Newhart Show, about the 2:50 mark))
But that is not the point of this post. The real point is this: I was thinking (wait for applause).
First I must give you the setup. John K (the other one) sets his alarm for 6:50. What a weird time! Nobody sets their alarm for oddball times, do they? I set mind for 7. Well, the reason, he told me, is that he has to iron his shirt. OK - makes sense.
So I awake the next morning to an unmistakable sound - the squeaking/grating sound like that of fingernails on a blackboard. It's the ironing board being opened.
Which got me thinking - of all the wonderful advances in technologies in almost every area of life, one of the things that has not changed in my lifetime (which is a very long time), is the ironing board. Ironings boards still have that same little lever you squeeze, and that same metal rod that fits through that same slot that still makes that same grating noise when you open it. My mother, in the late 1940's in an apartment on Bloor Street East in Toronto, did it in the same way as my roommate in the Travelodge in Calgary in 2014. Other things may come and go; other things may change, not always for the better. but one constant that remains in this world of seemingly constant flux is the good-fashioned ironing board.
Another thing that hasn't changed is the message of the Christian faith. Nor has poeple's need to hear it. It began as good news and remains so. It remains our only hope for eternity. Here at the Congress are speaker after speaker exhorting the audience to reach out to the neighbourhoods and the nations with the saving message of Jesus Christ; the opportunity of a relationship with God through him. My involvement with Alpha is my humble attempt to be obedient in that area.
We Christians still have the burden, yet the joy, of telling others this most wonderful news.
Some things never change.
Blessings,
John
But that is not the point of this post. The real point is this: I was thinking (wait for applause).
First I must give you the setup. John K (the other one) sets his alarm for 6:50. What a weird time! Nobody sets their alarm for oddball times, do they? I set mind for 7. Well, the reason, he told me, is that he has to iron his shirt. OK - makes sense.
So I awake the next morning to an unmistakable sound - the squeaking/grating sound like that of fingernails on a blackboard. It's the ironing board being opened.
Which got me thinking - of all the wonderful advances in technologies in almost every area of life, one of the things that has not changed in my lifetime (which is a very long time), is the ironing board. Ironings boards still have that same little lever you squeeze, and that same metal rod that fits through that same slot that still makes that same grating noise when you open it. My mother, in the late 1940's in an apartment on Bloor Street East in Toronto, did it in the same way as my roommate in the Travelodge in Calgary in 2014. Other things may come and go; other things may change, not always for the better. but one constant that remains in this world of seemingly constant flux is the good-fashioned ironing board.
Another thing that hasn't changed is the message of the Christian faith. Nor has poeple's need to hear it. It began as good news and remains so. It remains our only hope for eternity. Here at the Congress are speaker after speaker exhorting the audience to reach out to the neighbourhoods and the nations with the saving message of Jesus Christ; the opportunity of a relationship with God through him. My involvement with Alpha is my humble attempt to be obedient in that area.
We Christians still have the burden, yet the joy, of telling others this most wonderful news.
Some things never change.
Blessings,
John
Hey John K from Alpha! I set my alarm for 6:49 - not only does that allow me time to get up to get son #3 ready for school, it feels like winning the lottery every morning. Woohoo! It's the 649 again!
ReplyDeleteNancy
Well, OK. 6:49 makes sense. But 6:50? No significance at all.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me though of something from my past. Years ago I remember waking up in the morning and looking at the digital clock. It was 6:49. I rolled over. Next thing I remember was waking up and looking at the clock again. It was 7:11.
"This must be a sign," I thought. so I went to the 7-11 and bought a 6-49 ticket...
Didn't win a thing. So much for signs and superstition!