Almost Hired

"Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
Walk in the ways of your heart,
And in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
God will bring unto you judgment" (Ecclesiastes 11:9).

"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory,If it is found in the way of righteousness" (Proverbs 16:31).

Almost hired. I received a call from the recruiting office telling me where and when to go to Multi-Care health clinic for my physical and drug screening. Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow!

Daily I must keep the desire to serve him in my heart, pressed against the wiles of idleness in mind and bodily exercises; taking the chance to "step out" as a friend of mine recently encouraged me to do. I wish for the ways of my heart and the sight of my eyes to be able tools for the God who judges both open and secret works of man, good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14), that my youth would be a most cheerful passage into adulthood and a fond memory to seek inspiration and gladness from in the future. I stumble and trip over the sorts of snares which pervade a young man's life, such as pride and lust, envy, and laziness, but I thank the Lord that He cares for me, the bruised up, banged up sinner who has regularly proved that he is not perfect in the sight of God. But, Father, keep me in your ways. I write continually of patience and the worth of it, so please, guide me in my own persistence in this war for right actions.

As for the man who has wrinkles, permanent blue bruises on his skin, with calluses on his worn out hands, he looks back with a smile, looking back on the back-breaking work he has done in his almost centennial length of life, and his splendor is in his gray hair. He lived through it. Many a man has done that, I think, looked back and smiled; maybe a smile of ease is not expressed, but the sort of smile of laughter, of an inside joke, that makes an appearance on the aged brows of many men at the end of their life. God's calling His men out of the cities, out of the countryside, out of the ghettos, out of the farms, out of the town houses, and out of the bungalows to do His work. Am I one of those men? Yes, I am. I am hesitant? Naturally, at first, but I dare not think about running or sailing in the opposite direction as Jonah has done.

"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things" (1 Corinthians 13:11).