Sitting in Starbucks on the Fredonia college campus on a beautiful fall day; how can you beat that? I'm waiting on my friend Harry, who is finishing concert band rehearsal. I bowed out this year; no instrument. Instead, I play bass for the jazz band followed by a half hour lesson, leaving me plenty of time to enjoy the afternoon with a cup of joe by my side. We had arrived a bit early and having a bit of time to spare, stopped in for a cup before rehearsal. With SB's policy of giving you a 50 cent cup if you present your receipt before closing time, I'm grinning.
Earlier, we were talking about how blessed we are. Most people in the world cannot even conceive of life as we know it. We are well-clothed, well-fed, live in a luxury with conveniences unknown by kings and queens a mere three generations ago. We sat in the afternoon sun on a pristine fall day, enjoying our coffee and conversation, surrounded by natural beauty and young adults who have a lifetime ahead of them.
And yet...
I am grateful to have walked through that chapter of my life years ago, emerging on the other side relatively unscathed. The world I grew up in was far different than these kids face (No, this is not going to be an old man's diatribe against kids and life today). We didn't have even touchtone phones, let alone cells. TV was three channels with rabbit ears, it wasn't until my junior year in high school that what was to become the scourge of drugs made its tentative debut among a few classmates who toked a bit of weed on weekends.
The economy was humming, the future seemed ours for the taking, but wasn't all sweetness and light. JFK and RFK, Martin Luther King, Jr. were gone before their time, murdered by evil men, and as a result the Civil Rights Movement was beginning to fragment. The Vietnam war was in full swing, Nixon's presidency was beginning to unravel, free love and LSD were in vogue. Yet in spite of the unrest and turmoil, Woodstock and Watergate, there was a measure of optimism that seems lacking today. A high school education could still land you a decent job in manufacturing, the war was winding down, the economy picking up, and NASA was sending men to the moon.
Today we are mired in the Middle East, despite our president's declaration of "no boots on the ground." ISIS is determined to bring the fight to our doorstep, income disparity between rich and poor is widening, the bureaucratic state continues to grow, real median income is shrinking, and the mood is generally subdued at best.
And yet...
It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness.
The LORD is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
These ancient words from the prophet Jeremiah, recorded when his nation was disintegrating before his very eyes, are my comfort and hope for today. My retirement nest egg could end up like Humpty Dumpty, but ultimately my hope isn't in eggs, no matter how many of them I have. My confidence is in Jesus Christ, seated at the right hand of the Father in all authority and power. I never know for sure what tomorrow brings, but I always know for sure Who brings tomorrow, and for that, I am truly grateful. So I bask in the warmth of the sunshine, knowing that before they fall the leaves will turn golden and scarlet, prelude to the frost and snow, and the springtime that will surely come.
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