It is July 19th, and it absolutely amazes me the amount of fireworks I am seeing and hearing from my back porch tonight at 10:30 at night. It finally led to my looking up the law, and sure enough it has been changed. In Indiana, not only are all types of fireworks legal, but you apparently can shoot them off on the big holidays from 9am to midnight. Less we think we have become unreasonable here in the Hoosier State, if it is not a big holiday (so this means ANY OTHER day of the year) we now have to respect our neighbors and stop firing them off by 11pm! IT’S ABSOLUTE LUNACY!!! My neighbors can complain if my stereo is too loud, but not if I am lighting off explosives! (If I were just 35 years younger I would think this was the coolest law in the world, but clearly I am not!)
But I suppose lots of things in our modern world don’t make sense to me, and fireworks is just one of them (and I do not think it is my age). For instance, as a third generation American, I wonder how people can break the immigration laws and come here illegally, and we just turn our heads. My family didn’t come here that way. We followed the rules, and I believe we all should!
And how about all these people we hear about who commit MAJOR CRIMES, who not only have been in jail many times before, but who then never complete anywhere near their sentence. Or how many times do we need to hear about a drunk hitting someone with their car only to find out that they have had a ton of DUI’s before this one? AND ALL THIS OF COURSE IS JUST A SHORT LIST!!! What has happened to order? Where in the world is our common sense? We really need to get a grip on things before it’s too late!
I worry about where we are and where we are headed, and that’s part of why I do what I do. Our world needs to make a turn and head in a better direction, and I believe that a life of faith, and the discipline it requires, is just the ticket we need to get where we need to go.
You see, life is more than fireworks, or just doing what in the heck you want. Following Jesus means loving God and your neighbor, and loving both requires a life of personal responsibility and respect. We are clearly not there, but through Christ I believe we can get there!
It’s quiet now, but I guarantee you Ben is already in my bed. If that’s what it takes to get him through the night tonight peacefully, then so be it. But the world we see still waits for him and for all our children, and I believe we should be concerned. We are its current stewards and they are tomorrow’s. What we will hand them should offer more than we offer now.
I still however have hope for the future, for with God all things are possible. I prayed for the fireworks to stop and they have. I am certain it was not the prayers as much as the neighbors running out of ammo! But nonetheless, if we are going to change anything and make it last, God must be in it! My hope and prayer is that you too want more for our children that the culture we see, and that you will join me in praying for better, and commit yourself to working for better with me as well!
A peaceful night to you my friends, and God Bless!
Fr. Tom+