March 8: Good News? March 9: Bad News?

 While every day is a day that the Lord has made, there are some days that are especially memorable.  Today, March 8 is one of those days.  On a March 8 a few years ago,  I stood before God, friends, and the family of faith and married my wife, Ann.    It was a day that I will never forget.  I am a better man for the glorious priviledge to share life with Ann.  She is such a blessing and I give thanks to God for  her.  The world is a better place because of this godly woman. 

  March 9 is also a special day.  While the thought of March 8 brings tears of joy, March 9 is a day that brings a tear of sadness because it was on that day my Dad, Dennis Wall, died at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC.    I had the priviledge to be there at the hospital with him when he died.  I suppose there are stresses and strains at times  between all parents and their children.   Such was the case between my Dad and I.  I am certain that my  Dad’s alcoholism and my own stubbornness contributed to the strains between my Dad and I.  Those days and months leading up to my Dad’s death were hard, but they were also a blessing because it was a time when healing took place between Dad and I.  I am grateful for that healing and reconciliation, and for the fact that I was  with my Dad as he took his final breaths in this world.   

   As I think about the joy of March 8  in my life and the contrasting sadness of March 9, it begs the question for me of what is a good day and what is a bad day.  The story is told of a community where the young men were enlisting in the army and heading  to war.  All of the young men headed to war except one young man who had broken his leg.    Friends of the boy with a broken leg came to his father and expressed their sorrow that his son was staying behind.  His response was this:    “Bad news.  Good news.  Only God knows.”    A few months later,  news came to the village that every boy who had gone to the war had been killed.  When the news came to this same man, he did not gloat that his son had been spared because of his broken leg but simply exclaimed, “Bad news, Good news.  Only God knows.”     A few weeks later,  the horse of this man got out of the corral and wandered way.  Friends came to express their sadness for his bad fortune.   Again, he exclaimed,  “Bad news.  Good news.  Only God knows.”    A few days later, the horse returned to the man accompanied by a herd of other horses.    The man’s response was the same.   “Bad news.  Good news.  Only God knows.”  

That story points out well that in the midst of a  moment it is hard to know what is good news or what is bad news, what is a good day or a bad day.  In the immediacy of the moment, always knows that God is there as you shed tears of joy or tears of sadness.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  Lord and God, I thank you for this day.  Whether it brings joy or sorrow, grant that I might open my heart to the knowledge of your presence; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.