How are you with surprises?
Eighty-two years ago this week, one of the greatest surprises ever occurred. This week our nation commemorates the day when the Japanese surprised America by bombing Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. On that day, Dec. 7, 1941 at 7:55 in the morning, 353 Japanese aircraft, launched from four heavy carriers, along with over sixty support craft, were involved in this surprise attack on the United States Navy. The whole event lasted just over an hour that morning, but the devastation was great. Over 2,400 Americans died that day, including 68 civilians. Nineteen U.S. Navy ships were damaged or destroyed, including eight battleships. The three aircraft carriers in the U.S. Pacific fleet were untouched, simply because they were not in port, but rather were out on maneuvers. The Japanese air contingent searched for them but was unable to find them, so the carrier fleet remained intact. The surprise of that day was devastating.
The memories of that day are becoming fewer since the World War II survivors are becoming fewer in number, but those memories are still horrific ones for those who were there! But through the written testimonies of many who were there, and the video testimonies of those who have been interviewed by organizations such as the Gary Sinise Foundation, the memories live on. And the honor bestowed on these veterans is well-deserved.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise we would love to forget, but are there such things as surprises we like to have? Oh, I suppose there are all sorts of these surprises, aren’t there? Things like an unexpected money gift. Or a good report from your doctor. Or a visit from your children or grandchildren when you least expected it. How about a surprise party on that birthday that doesn’t end in a zero (like 51, or 14, or 37)?
One wife told her husband that for her birthday she was expecting to find a surprise gift in the driveway when she woke up that morning. That gift, she told him, needed to be wrapped in a big bow, and able to go from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds flat. Boy, was she surprised when she got up on the morning of the big day, looked out the window at the driveway, and found a big box wrapped with a big bow. When she opened the box she found a brand new set of …bathroom scales! She was very surprised… and her husband has not been seen or heard from since!
Okay, so you don’t like surprises. What about adventures? Some years ago, I determined to “surprise” my bride with an adventure I went through extensive planning to arrange for us to travel one weekend in October during the height of fall foliage colors from our home in New Jersey up the Hudson River Valley in New York to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, the home of Norman Rockwell, one of my wife’s favorite artists. I arranged to stay in the Red Lion Inn there, then arranged for a substitute preacher for our church service on Sunday. I also asked a young single lady in our church to watch our three young children at the time.
Now I must admit, I was planning to surprise my bride with this weekend getaway. But fortunately, due to the advice of my secretary at the time, I decided to let her know about two weeks ahead of the weekend, so she could anticipate the time away and enjoy it more. That was a great decision and the whole weekend was indeed a wonderful weekend to remember.
Life in some families is a continual adventure. On the way to school on a normal morning, Mom may turn at the last minute and head for a local farm and petting zoo for a one-day field trip. Or Dad comes home early from work on a Friday and piles everyone into the car and heads for a weekend in a mountain cabin. Adventures are all the more exciting when they are completely unexpected.
God is a God of adventure as well. A lowly farmer named Gideon was thrust into the role of military commander (Judges 6–7). Saul of Tarsus was called by Jesus to become the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:1-19).
And, in the spirit of Christmas, there was a young teenager named Mary whose life was completely turned around by God. “And having come in, the angel [Gabriel] said to [Mary], “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” (Luke 1:28) When the angel Gabriel announced that she would become the earthly mother of the Son of God…talk about an adventure! She started down a path she couldn’t have imagined.
My friends, call it what you will, a surprise or an adventure, but in my book, it really doesn’t matter where Jesus leads us, following Him will always be an adventure. Whenever He says, “Follow Me,” do what Mary did: Just say, “Let it be” (Luke 1:38) —say “Yes.”
God bless…
Chuck Tabor is a regular columnist for this newspaper and a former pastor in the area. He may be reached at [email protected].
