I Never Thought I'd See the Day
I never thought I'd see the day!
Anyone ever use that phrase?
Of course, I never thought I’d see the day when I would start saying, “I never thought I’d see the day.” But let me give you a few examples...
I never thought I’d see the day when I was the uncool or embarrassing one. Parents and grandparents out there, do you remember when you were the cool ones? And then, all of sudden, someone comes along…with your last name…and MUCH younger than you by the way…informing you that you are NO longer cool…and NOT only aren’t you cool anymore, you don’t even know what cool is!
I never thought I’d see the day, but apparently I am no longer able to judge coolness. And now, all I am good for is going around the house shouting, “Who left the light on?!?” and “Close the door! I'm not paying to heat the outside!”
Or how about this: I also never thought I’d see the day when I needed a helper to drive my car. But since I am getting older, and am married, I have a helper now while driving. She does things like let me know how fast I am going, “Do you know how fast you’re driving?”
“Yeah, I have a speedometer right in front of me, thanks. But if the needle ever snaps in half, it’s good to know you’re right here.”
And she lets me know when the traffic light turns colors and everything. “It’s green you know.”
“Thanks Captain Colorwheel I got it.”
Now, as if all of the above wasn’t bad enough, two weeks ago I was getting my haircut. The stylist was like, “Your highlights are incredible. Who did your highlights? You know I do highlights and I never get them this good. The way they blend….” She’s going on and on--no joke.
Finally, I had to sadly inform her, “Listen, those aren’t highlights. That’s gray hair.”
Now, of course, those kinds of “I never thought I’d see the day” stories are humorous. However, I have some other “I never thought I’d see the day” stories here that aren’t nearly so humorous.
Last May, while reading through Entertainment Weekly I found a section that was all about “Must See Season Finales.” One of these “Must See Finale’s” was a show called Glee. And the whole plot line of this finale involved a teenage boy going to buy a ring for his boyfriend…
Well, I never thought I’d see the day when that was must see TV.
A few weeks ago, I was reading where Christian groups on major college campuses like Vanderbilt, the University of Michigan, and others were getting decertified because, according to school officials, the Christian groups were discriminating by only accepting group leaders who were followers of Christ… imagine that.
I read a story recently about the Ten Commandments being taken out classrooms in a school district in Oklahoma, before that it was happening in Kentucky, before that it was Montana, before that it was in Alabama, and California and Virginia, and the list continues. I never thought I’d see the day.
I read about 2nd Grader Laura Greska who couldn’t take the book The First Christmas to school to share for Show-and-Tell because it talked about Jesus being born. Another 2nd grader in Frenchtown, NJ was not allowed to sing Awesome God during the school’s talent show and her family was even issued a temporary restraining order to keep them away from the school on the night of “Frenchtown Idol.”
I read about a 7th grader in Paramus, NJ who dressed as Jesus for his class’s Halloween party but was told he needed to go home or tell people he was a Roman emperor. Even though others dressed as witches, devils, and the like, he could not dress like Jesus.
I read about the Santa Clara school district in Florida which banned voluntary, student-initiated prayers, off the clock discussions about religion, and the use of the phrase “God Bless.” And I read about Federal Judge Robert Gettleman who banned moments of silence in the state of Illinois stating that “it was a subtle attempt to force children at impressionable ages to contemplate religion.”
I never thought I’d see the day.
But guess what? That day is here, and our response to this day that will leave a legacy for the next generation. I wonder what that legacy will be.
Will it be a legacy of lethargy or vitality? Will it be a legacy of people standing up for Jesus, saying NO to compromise with the culture, and living out faith in Christ regardless of what others think or do, or will it be a legacy of complacency and compromise?
Which will you choose?
