A Story of Wonderful Possibilities

Sunday, September 23, 2018

A Story of Wonderful Possibilities

On Facebook yesterday, a lady posted a beautiful photograph of a pretty scene at WWII Memorial State Park (also known as Social Park) in Woonsocket, RI. This writer commented on Linda’s post and noticed that the house he is living in is in that picture. So, he took out his dad’s old binoculars, which his mother gave to him many years ago, after dad died. And with those binoculars he could see Social Park; and could even see the black obelisk in the center of the picture on Facebook. And could see people sitting on park benches near that obelisk and the red brick-colored circle on the ground surrounding the obelisk.

And a wonderful thought occurred to him about those binoculars. He remembered way back in the 1960s, after his dad acquired those binoculars, dad told him how he got them. He explained that he had been on a TV service call at someone’s home; and the customer offered to give Dad the binoculars in payment for the service call. And Dad accepted them. And the customer explained that he had seen everything he wanted to see outside his windows with the binoculars; so, he didn’t need them anymore.

And sometimes I wonder: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that man had been living here at Kennedy Manor; and my Dad, whom I haven’t seen in 43 years, had been here at Kennedy Manor; and then, I wondered: Wouldn’t it be even more wonderful, if that customer and my Dad had been right here in the very apartment I’m now living in, working on that customer’s TV? And, if so, then these old binoculars have returned to the very apartment they used to be in; and are being used to look out the very windows that that customer had looked through?

And here’s another wonderful thought: My dad was born on August 29. And Ingrid Bergman the very famous actress, was born on August 29. And she also departed this life on her birthday, August 29th. I like to think “She hit a home run.” I mean that the circuit of her human life started and ended on the same anniversary date—just like a baseball player who hits a home run at the plate and circles all the bases and returns to the exact spot where he began: Home Plate.

And, at Social Park, there is a baseball field: Napoleon Lajoie Field, named after the Major League Hall of Fame baseball player from Woonsocket, RI. And, of course, they hit home runs at that Park. I haven’t seen Ingrid Bergman or Nap Lajoie yet with my binoculars; but, unlike that customer who thought he had seen everything there was to see outside his windows, I’m going to keep right on looking for as long as I live; not just for Ingrid Bergman and Napoleon Lajoie, but for whatever is out there to see. Remember what Forest Gump so famously said: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna’ get.” And you never know what you’re going to see, if you keep your eyes open; and also keep your heart open “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (please see Ephesians 1:18) which the Lord opens for those who believe in Him and receive Him by faith as their personal Savior in truth.

And remember that famous line by Humphrey Bogart to Ingrid Bergman in that famous movie: Casablanca? “Here’s looking at you, kid.” Well, let’s all keep the eyes of our understanding open; because you never know what you’re gonna’ see, if you keep your heart open by the grace of God in Christ and by His Holy Spirit. You just might see something or someone very beautiful and pretty; and by the eyes of your understanding being opened, you might begin to see someone or something that is already in your life in a brand new light, the Light of Christ.

It is written:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.’ “ -John 1:1-18 NIV Study Bible.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ “ -John 8:12.

If you’re interested in the eyes of your heart being enlightened, you may read about that subject in the Scriptures; for example in the Book of Ephesians, chapters one through six. (verse 1:18 in particular). In Ephesians, the church is mentioned. This is the church of Christ. It is not a worldly church; so, don’t confuse the two. They are not the same. The church of Christ is spiritual. It is not visible. It is composed of all those who really and truly believe that Jesus Christ is Lord; who really and truly believe the gospel of Christ; who truly receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior; who are truly born again by the grace of God through faith in God’s One and Only Son.

Thank you to Maureen McGovern for this recording of the very beautiful song: “The Morning After.” (“a song written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn for the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure”  -Wikipedia.org.