Something Don’d on Me! don’t wait

If you wait for perfect conditions,
you will never get anything done” 
(Ecclesiastes 11:4 TLB)
 
VACATION ALERT: Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines announced this week, what it says is the “Longest Cruise in the World!” It sails from Miami next year (leaves December 10, 2023) and will be gone for 271 Days!  The “Ultimate World Cruise” will visit 150 ports in 65 Countries and ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS! You could see Casablanca, Morocco; visit the “Christ the Redeemer” Statue in Rio on New Year’s Eve; Antarctica, the Great Barrier Reef, Spain, India, the Great Wall of China…the Seven Wonders of the World, and so much more! It’s on ship called “Serenade of the Seas” that is 13 decks tall, 3 football fields long, has multiple restaurants, casinos, mini golf, arcade, rock climbing wall, 6 pools, and a spa. Cost for this NINE MONTH EXCURSION…starts at $79,000 per person! Wow! (But you can get a 10% discount if you pay in full by January 2023!)
            But it’s what Michael Bagley, CEO of Royal Caribbean International, said in the announcement that caught my eye. “Coming out of the pandemic, now-more than ever-people have resolved to travel the world and MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME.” The Cruise industry has been battered by the last 2 years and lack of travel, with MANY changes being made to the whole travel trade. This is certainly a “Swing for the Fences” approach to answering that need to “make up for lost time.”
            But “making up for lost time” can entail so much more than “travel.” It can be making up with that family member that you’ve been at odds with for so long. It can be reading that Bible text or that Marriage Enrichment book that you’ve MEANT to do, but just haven’t gotten “around to it.” It can even mean going home earlier, making meals together as a family a priority, praying with your spouse, praying FOR your spouse…or helping out a neighbor.
           
Life must be lived under imperfect conditions. If the only time you enjoy your spouse is when things are perfect, you’re not ever going to enjoy them. If the only time you enjoy your kids is when things are perfect, you’re never going to enjoy them. If the only time you pray is when you feel like it, the Devil’s going to make sure you never feel like it. Paul even says it differently: “WHENEVER WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY…do good to everyone!” (Galatians 6:10)

You have to live your life and enjoy what God’s given you today… in spite of imperfect conditions or circumstances. Stop looking for things to settle down. Don’t wait on “one of these days.” Do it now. Don’t wait…don’t HESITATE…do good for His Kingdom TODAY!
 
And if you’re looking for an early Christmas present for me, I’m a size “Balcony Suite” in Cruises!
 
SHALOM-Peace to Your Home,
Don