The holiday I had earnestly anticipated for nearly 3 months had arrived. I decorated the front entry, living room, and dining room with an autumnal motif for the occasion. Thanksgiving Day was just a couple of days away, and my eldest son David was due to arrive that afternoon with his wife, Diane and my granddaughters, Kelly and Shelly. I was looking forward to seeing them. I took the morning to dust the furniture and clean up the bathroom and kitchen. So I put fresh linens on their beds, and the fridge and freezer were fully stocked with everyone’s favorites, including all that was needed for our Thanksgiving feast. I was ready for my visitors.
David and his family arrived at about 3:00 p.m., and my granddaughters rushed from the car to greet me as I stood on my front porch.
“Hi, Grandpa!” They said in unison as they hugged me.
“Well, hello, how are my girls?” I said.
“Wore out,” Shelly said.
“Yep, wore out. That was a long drive.” Kelly agreed.
“Hey, Dad!” David and Diane said in unison.
“Hey, are you guys as worn out as my girls?” I said.
“Yes!” Diane said with a big sigh.
They were haggard and hungry. So after we brought in their luggage and they freshened up, I took them to my favorite restaurant. We had a wonderful time, and it was fun catching up with all the experiences in their lives, the ups and downs, the good and the bad. I loved talking to my granddaughters; they were so full of life, joy, and wide-eyed wonder, as should be expected for an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old brought up in a Christian home. I still hope they can keep that joy of life as long as possible in this crazy, mixed-up world we live in.
“Hey, Sam, who do we have here?” My favorite waitress, Jenifer, asked.
“Hey Jennifer, this is my eldest son David and his wife Diane and my beautiful granddaughters, Kelly and Shelly. They’re in for Thanksgiving,” I replied.
“Well, that’s wonderful, Sam. There’s nothing like a family gathering at Thanksgiving, and you are so right. These precious granddaughters of yours are beautiful. Welcome to the Old Mountain Home restaurant. What can I get you folks to drink?” Jennifer said.
After we ordered our drinks, Jennifer exclaimed, “I’ll be right back,” and scurried off. We sat looking at the menu for a few minutes, and I shared my recommended favorites from the menu to help things along. Then, shortly after, Jennifer returned with our drinks.
“Here you are, does anyone want a straw? Jennifer questioned.
“Yes, please,” was the unanimous response.
“What can I get for you?” she inquired, and we all ordered consecutively, with me taking up the rear.
“I’ll put this order in for you and bring it out as soon as it’s ready,” she said.
“Thanks, Jennifer,” I said, and she hurried off to place our orders.
While waiting on the food we ordered, we engaged in the usual family small talk…sharing information about other family members that we rarely see and catching up with recent life events…among other things. Jennifer returned several minutes later. Her arms were crowded with plates, with another young lady assisting her, and her arms were just as crowded with plates.
“Here you are, folks,” Jennifer said as she and her assistant placed the food before each of us.
“Thanks, Jennifer,” I said.
“Can I get anything else for you?” She questioned. And we collectively said, “no, thank you.”
“Well, just holler if you need anything, and I’ll be back to check on you in a little while,” she said just before leaving to care for other customers.
We had a great meal and then went home to my house full and happy. When we got home, the girls and their mother wanted to watch TV, so I showed them the TV remote and left them to it. David and I went into the den to talk.
“That waitress, Jennifer, she’s pretty cute, is there anything I should know about?” David said.
“Hah! No, she’s just a friend from church. I shan’t be acquiring you a new mum anytime soon,” I said jokingly in my best British accent.
“Well, good, because Mom was irreplaceable,” he affirmed with a smile.
“She sure was, and I miss her every day, but I know she’s in Heaven, and I’ll get to see her someday,” I agreed.
David then proceeded to tell me about his new car and that they might be moving to a bigger, better house. He shared with me some of the ideas that Diane and he had about what to get the girls for Christmas and the fancy, expensive stuff they planned on getting each other. He spoke at length about his job and his plans on getting a bigger, better position in the company he worked for even if he had to make more sacrifices of his time.
I didn’t say much up to this juncture of the conversation but just listened. Then I finally asked, “Son, you know I love you and want the best for you and your family, but what are your priorities in life?” He looked at me quizzically, like I hadn’t been listening to him at all.
He replied in a matter-of-fact manner, “I was just telling you about my priorities.”
“Okay,” I said, “The next few questions are going to be rhetorical, so you don’t have to answer them. Just think about them for a little while, okay?”
“Sure, Dad.” He replied.
“When was the last time you held an office in your church? When was the last time you tithed? Also, when was the last time you took off work just to be with your family? When was the last time you earnestly prayed? When was the last time you read your Bible? Do you remember the priorities I taught you from the Word of God?” I purposefully and prudently questioned.
As I asked these questions, I could see my son getting visibly agitated, he was looking down at the floor and squirming around in his chair, touching his hand to his face and mouth. After I asked the questions, I just sat there with a non-descript look on my face.
After about half a minute of silent contemplation, David finally said, “I have done exactly what you always told me not to do. I listened to what the world thought were priorities, and now I want those same things, bigger, better, and more. I fell into that old trap. Sorry, Dad, you taught me better than that.”
“Well, it’s never too late to repent and set yourself on the right path, son, a path that follows scripture and the leadership of the Holy Spirit,” I explained.
“You’re right, as usual. I need to straighten up my priorities, starting right now,” he sorrowfully shared.
“That sounds great, son, but don’t be hard on yourself. We all have fallen victim to these thoughts and actions, including me,” I said reassuringly, and then we chatted about trivial subjects for the next hour or so.
Later we all said our good nights with hugs and kisses and turned in for the night. I hope David thinks hard about what we discussed. Life really isn’t worth living if you’re living it according to what the world teaches, with its humanism, materialism, atheism, polytheism, evolutionism, and hedonism (among others). All of these are traps set by the Devil to turn us from the true path. The path that Jesus laid out for us in the New Testament, the path with its beginnings in Genesis and the Old Testament, that path that humans were created to follow but so often don’t. Again, my mind was brought back to all the things that proceed the end times. I remembered 2 Timothy 3:1-4.
“Realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…”
I thank God that David hadn’t gone quite that far down that treacherous path, but many other people have, and that’s the current worldview that many people are trending toward. This is one crazy, mixed-up world with very hazardous and wacky priorities. In my bed, as my thoughts hushed and my mind relaxed, I fell fast asleep.
I woke up the next morning to the sweet aroma of bacon frying and fresh coffee brewing. Diane was up and about early and decided to treat all of us to a good old fashion country breakfast with bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, and hash browns. What a feast!
“Good morning, Diane!” I exclaimed, “Thank you so very much for this wonderful meal.”
“It’s my pleasure; you know how I love to cook,” she said.
“I do, and I’m grateful that you do. I haven’t had a big breakfast like this since my Evie passed on to be with the Lord. It brings back fond memories, and I appreciate it, and I love you for sparking those precious memories this beautiful morning.”
“Thanks, Dad,” she replied as the rest of the family meandered into the dining room.
Now that we were all gathered together in the dining room, I blessed the food and prayed that my son, Tom, and his wife would arrive safely. And then we had a wonderful breakfast together. Tom and his wife Nancy were not due in for a few more hours. So after breakfast, we all just gathered in the living room and watched a couple of movies. Tom and Nancy arrived just before lunch, and we were all finally together to share our holiday.
“Hey Tom, Nancy, how was the trip?” I quizzed.
“It was fine, Dad, except for having to stop every hour, so Nancy could use the restroom,” Tom replied with a mischievous smile.
“I know how that is,” Diane said, “that bundle of joy reclining on your bladder can be a nuisance.”
“You can say that again!” Nancy said with a smile.
Nancy was beaming with joy because the child she was carrying would be a son, and his arrival was only one short month away. Tom was just as proud. They were so cute together, and Tom pampered her and took care of her every need. He’ll be a great father, and I already know that he’s a great husband to Nancy. After lunch that afternoon, David, Tom, and I slipped into the den to watch football while the ladies talked and watched TV in the living room. As the eve of Thanksgiving Day waned into the late evening, we all reposed in our beds and fell fast asleep.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Grandpa!” I heard in unison as my granddaughters woke me bright and early on Thanksgiving morning.
“Well, good morning, ladies, Happy Thanksgiving,” I said as I cuddled them in my arms and dragged them onto my bed. I cuddled them for a few seconds and then asked them to head out to the kitchen, so I could get dressed.
“Okay, Grandpa, they reluctantly said as they climbed down from my bed and then left the room.
That morning we had a humble breakfast of donuts, milk, and coffee. We all shared a wonderful morning together, and then Diane and Nancy went to work, sharing the labor of cooking the Thanksgiving feast. Diane took the stand-up jobs while Nancy took the sit-down jobs, and the girls helped too. David, Tom, and I sat in the living room, staying out of the way to the best of our ability, but quickly responded if anyone needed anything. When the food was ready, we all gathered in the dining room. I blessed our family and asked God to bless the banquet that we were about to partake in, to nourish and strengthen our bodies to better serve Him. I asked Him to also give us the prudence to always do everything within His holy will and to His glory.
Our Thanksgiving was a late lunch feast that was fit for a king, consisting of turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings. I’m a very blessed man, and I praise God for all that I have and for my precious family. We had a great time over those few short days together, but on Saturday afternoon, it was time for them to head back home. After hugs, kisses, and handshakes, we said our goodbyes, and they all piled back into their cars and left, so they could be back at home in time to attend church Sunday morning.
That night I thought back to Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. My sons and I got into a conversation about the prophesied “end times”. Tom’s church was doing a special study on Sunday evenings concerning the end times. The discussion reminded me of the dreams I had a few months ago. So I shared my dream with them. That dream that had repeated every night for a full week. And the thoughts that had been running through my mind concerning the signs of Jesus’ pending arrival to catch us up to meet Him in the sky, also known as the rapture of the church.
“Why didn’t you tell us about these dreams?” Tom said.
“Well, I just didn’t think you needed to be burdened with it. They were just dreams, it’s not like I was diagnosed with cancer or something,” I replied.
“True, that’s true, but they have stopped, right? He questioned, with concern in his voice.
“Yep, as I said, the dreams lasted exactly 7 consecutive days and then stopped. I’m fine,” I reassured.
Once I quelled the concerns of my sons, we continue our discussion, and I recounted Matthew 24:6-7.
“You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places.”
I shared with my sons that as the saved Saints of God, we should be looking for these signs but should have no fear of them. They have to come to pass, as prophesied. But worrying about it is unnecessary because we will be raptured to meet Jesus in the air before the most horrible part of this happens. I shared my belief that we will be spared the 7-year Tribulation completely.
Tom agreed and then slightly changed the subject. He shared Luke 21:24.
“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
He continued with Isaiah 11:11.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, Which shall be left, from Assyria, And from Egypt, and from Pathros, And from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.”
He shared that they were studying about the people of Israel being scattered, and now they were gathering back to Israel before the last days of this era. (Also called the Times of the Gentiles or the Church Era).
“Yep, it’s pretty amazing. The Hebrew people went from about 40,000 Jews in Palestine in 1900, to the re-establishment of their country in 1948, to an amazing 5.7 million Jews in Palestine today. Which is almost the same number of Jews there were before the holocaust,” I shared.
“Wow, I had no idea of how much of a comeback they’ve made,” David said.
“They have made an amazing comeback, and that’s even with several nations trying to oppress them and some even trying to exterminate them. They are truly God’s chosen people.” I said.
We continued the discussion for several hours that Friday, speculating on the events to come, reviewing scripture, and sharing all we knew about the end times. So we came to one unanimous conclusion…we were living in those end times.
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