Bask in the sunshine

I used to own a mail order business and each day we would receive checks from UPS for shipments. Most of our shipments were UPS COD and the amount of our daily deposit for the company was dependent upon the number and amount of checks received each day. Occasionally we would receive an enormous amount of checks and thus end up with a huge deposit for the day. These days were just tremendous days to me and were always cause for great celebration and I would be in a good mood all day.

One of the guys working for me could not seem to bring himself to celebrate. Instead he would start worrying about what the deposit would be like the following day. He would say, “Oh that means tomorrow’s deposit will be all but non-existent”.

I would just shake my head and tell him that if we received a small amount of checks tomorrow, we would have plenty of time to mourn it, but today we should take time to celebrate and I instructed him to quit showering “rain on my parade” and being a “wet blanket” and to enjoy the moment with me.

The other day a good friend of mine wrote just to let me know how wonderful the last couple of days of his life had been. His career is blossoming in spite of the bad economy. His family life has never been better. All of his hobbies are just working magic in his life and he has more friends than he has ever had. At the end of the e-mail he said that in fact things were going so well in his life that it kind of worried him that maybe something bad was going to happen and maybe even the Lord would call him home.

My response to him was the same as to my employee. When standing on a peak, bask in the sunshine and enjoy it to its fullest extent. There will be plenty of time to lament and mourn and grieve when in the next valley. In this life we know that we will have both peaks and valleys. Both are there for a reason. When you are lucky enough to be on a peak of life, remember to take time to enjoy it to the fullest extent my friends. Don’t worry about a future valley, because there will be plenty of time when it happens to address it.

When you descend down into the valley, draw close to God, hunker down with Him, and endure and wait on the Lord to deliver you to the next peak. Remember as someone has wisely said, “If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain!” Bask in the light of Jesus Christ, even when engulfed in the darkness of this world.

My friend said in his e-mail that he wishes he could just live forever. Hmmm. Is this the same person who wrote me a few weeks back when he was in a valley and wondered out loud what in the world had gone wrong with the economy and country and worried whether or not his company and career might survive? “Woe is me”, seemed to be the tune of that day

My advice for those times when one is in the valley is the opposite of when standing on a peak. Go right ahead and look forward to the next peak. We used to say in sales that mathematically we had to receive a certain number of no’s before we could receive a yes. It is easier not to be discouraged to think of a no as just being all that closer to a yes. Using the same logic, a peak almost always follows a valley, so when in the valley remind yourself that you are merely in the process of climbing back on a peak and pray to God that it will be a quick climb. (Sigh… It is easier to say than to do, but it is better than nothing I suppose.)

I want to live forever, but not on this earth. In heaven there will be no valleys, just continuous peaks and basking in God’s light and enjoying life to its fullest on the highest of peaks. Better to be on high all of the time than down low, lost in the valley below. While I am still on this earth, I will walk in the light of Jesus Christ in valley or peak and bask in His sunshine to the fullest extent, because I know that He will protect me forever and one day lift me up for the final time and there will be no valleys ever again. Isn’t it odd that we have to go through the darkest of valleys, “the valley of the shadow of death”, to get there????

Enjoy your day today and throughout the weekend and go to church this Sunday!

John 8:12
Then Jesus spoke to them again,
saying, “I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk
in darkness, but have the light of
life.”