Yesterday I celebrated my 74th birthday.  As my lifetime now enters almost 3/4 of a century, I can’t help but ponder what’s happened during that time.  I’ve seen so many changes in technology, education, wars, moral decline, political corruption, exploration of distant planets and unknown places, financial ups and downs, invasion of terrorism onto our own soil and a sense of loss of freedom in our great country.

The family unit has changed as well.  Moms and dads were expected to be the spiritual leaders of families.  Children were given responsibilities at home as well as filling their minds with knowledge.  There was no excuse for not working hard for a living.  Welfare was a last resort.  People were used to picking up the pieces of a financial disaster and finding jobs in spite of the economy.  A strong work ethic has weakened with time.

Our nation became prosperous over its short history, but prosperity isn’t always measured by financial gain.  The transportation moguls of old – the lumber barons, the industrialists, the inventors all gained wealth with their ideas and where-with-all, but the result of that gain often came about by the sweat and backs of the common man who made it possible.

We bask in the glow of our accomplishments as a nation, but have we really progressed?  I would never trade my automatic washer and dryer for a creek and a clothesline, but if necessary, I wouldn’t hesitate to dig in and do what I had to do.  Do we still possess that attitude or is it a thing of the past as well?

Now I approach the next portion of my life.  What will the next 25 years hold?  Being a communicator, acting and public speaking coach, I fear that the art of communication is being stifled by electronic devices.  Face to face communication is a thing of the long lost past.  Problems will soon be solved by machines rather than great minds.  Our nation has suffered some great growing pains, but I still have hope for it – as long as it doesn’t lose sight of its Creator.

There is peace for those who continue to hold fast to God’s Word.  It’s the one piece of literature to withstand the test of time and change, without changing.  I pray that the United States of America returns to what might be called old fashioned ideas from a dusty book.  There is a wealth of information within its pages – information that will lead to our survival as well as our eternal life.