Faith & Religion

Age seems to be a tricky thing here in America and interesting enough, it starts at a very young age. When I was just five years old, if you would have asked me how old I was, I would have told you “five and a half.” If you had asked me at fourteen how old I was, I probably would have told you “almost sixteen.” But then things started to change somewhere in my thirties, and if you would have asked me at thirty-six how old I was, I would have no doubt answered “twenty-nine.” And twenty-nine it is!

There’s an ultra mini expression which packs a big punch - it’s been around for quite a while, but many may not have a clue as to its origin - after all - it’s pretty novel and a tad bit scary. Hold onto your seat - here tis: “Run to the roar!” Pretty ear-catching! So - is this “running to the roar” the sound of a souped-up muscle car, or “running to the roar” of a mad crazy person, or “running to the roar” of a jet engine? Surprisingly, none of the above. It’s truly scarier than those - it’s running to the roar of a enormous lion!

Can you remember back to a time in your life where you did something so illogical that friends and family thought you were a little "off?" Perhaps they even went to you in private and counseled you to rethink your actions? My biggest "illogical living" season occurred just a few years ago - 2016, to be exact. I was diagnosed with stage 4, metastatic kidney cancer - terminal. The cancer was everywhere. My doctor gave me 3 to 6 months to live. He advised me just to go home and enjoy my family - no chemo, no treatment - just go home and die.

There is an old legend known as “The Tale of King Solomon’s Ring.” This is not a Biblical story, but one handed down through the ages. King Solomon was said to be the wisest man in the Bible and one day, he summoned his faithful servant, Benaya and sent him out on an almost impossible mission. Solomon requested that Benaya find a ring that could transform a sad person into a happy individual and a happy person into a somber person. Benaya spent several months searching out this unique ring, but after traveling the land with no success, he was ready to give up.

Update - the Beckett's have a new baby in the house. She weighs in at 6 lbs, 4 oz, mostly sleeps through the night and has yet to regularly use her pee pad. Yes, we have a new puppy and 13 weeks old Missy is both a sweet delight and a little terror. We arrived home recently only to find that she had broken into our pantry, found a potato and chewed it into a million little bits, which of course, were strewn all over our front room. Her pee pads are regularly torn up into a thousand pieces and scattered all over our kitchen floor — our house looks like a tornado has gone through it, and Bob is constantly having to remind me that "It will be worth it." I'm sure he's right, but it's a grueling trek for now.