FLOWERS

I was scheduled for jury duty this week, starting Monday. Each day, when I checked, my group was not ordered to report. I naively thought I had dodged a bullet. Then, last night, I found out we were scheduled to report at 8:00 a.m. today. In order to avoid traffic, I left early and arrived at the courthouse at 7:30 a.m.  I was the first one there. But it was cold, around 50 degrees, so I decided to go for a walk to keep warm. I got back to the Court House at 7:50 a.m. and now there was a long line. I was last in the line. A clerk came out, reminded us that we had to wear a mask at all times, and, by the way, the trial was expected to last 10 business days. This was not looking good for me.

When I went through security, they practically made me do a public strip tease. I even had to remove my belt. I didn’t want to try and put my belt back on in front of a bunch of people, so I went into the nearest men’s room. By the time I got organized, everyone else was gone. I found out I was supposed to go to the second floor and follow the signs. When I got to the jury assembly room, it was empty. I asked the clerk if I was in the right place and she said yes, show me your badge. So, I gave her my badge and she said: “We have all the jurors we need, so you are excused.”  Then she gave me a “Proof of Service” form.  I literally laughed all the way home. Everyone else in that line, but me, was in a court room, going through voi dire. Sometimes the last are indeed first. In this case, the first to go home.

This is a reminder that the Lord sometimes works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.  Many of us, including me, have been depressed ever since the 2020 fiasco of an election. It is hard to comprehend a good result when someone like Joe Biden is sworn into office as President of the United States. It is even harder to accept this when there is so much evidence that the election was stolen. The hardest thing to believe is that 81 million people really voted for someone like Joe Biden. He couldn’t draw crowds big enough to fill a McDonalds, even with limited capacity and social distancing.

Anyone remotely familiar with Biden’s record had little grounds for optimism. In addition to his life-long history of telling absurd lies, it is impossible to ignore the strong odor of systemic corruption. While all politicians probably have some level of corruption, Biden raised that to a whole new level and the MSM either ignored this or pretended it didn’t matter. Then he issued all those insane executive orders, and the results, predictably,  are disastrous.

But, after losing that election, the Republicans may have won a far bigger battle. The election in Virginia shows that in addition to there being a Santa Claus, there are a lot of Democrats and Independents who see the same things we see. They are not impressed. Sometimes the biggest victories come only after experiencing major loss. In 1968 the Buffalo Bills stunk up the joint. As a result, in 1969 they got first pick in the NFL draft and picked O.J. Simpson. Long before he began running from the police, he did a great job running circles around NFL defenses. The same thing happened to Pittsburgh in 1969, so in 1970 they gambled on a guy named Terry Bradshaw.  Now it is important to remember losing bad enough to get the first pick in the draft is not always all that great. A lot of the first picks in the NFL draft were horrible. Just ask any Oakland Raiders fan about Jamarcus Russell.

Republicans appear to be on the road to taking back both the House and the Senate during the 2022 elections. Long before that, the winds of change will be sweeping across the American landscape. Let’s hope they seize the day and realize that Joe Biden just may have been the ultimate gift.

God Moves in Mysterious Ways, by William Cowper, 1774:

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sov’reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.

I am reminded that a bucket of manure smells really bad, but it also helps grow flowers.

TDM