When Billy Graham was 92 years-old, he was struggling with Parkinson's disease.  In January, a month before his 93rd birthday, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favorite son, Billy Graham to a luncheon in his honor.
Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because of his struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, 'We don't expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you.' So, he agreed.
After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the podium, looked at the crowd, and said:  "I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century.  Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train, when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger.  When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket.  He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets.

“It wasn't there.  He looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it.  Then he looked in the seat beside him.  He still couldn't find it.  The conductor said, ‘Dr. Einstein, I know who you are.  We all know who you are.  I'm sure you bought a ticket.  Don't worry about it.’  Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets.  As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.

"The conductor rushed back and said, 'Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are; no problem.  You don't need a ticket.  I'm sure you bought one.‘  Einstein looked at him and said, ‘Young man, I too, know who I am.  What I don't know is where I'm going.’"

Having said that Billy Graham continued, "See the suit I'm wearing?  It's a brand-new suit.  My children and my grandchildren are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age.  I used to be a bit more fastidious.  So, I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion. You know what that occasion is?  This is the suit in which I'll be buried.  But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing.  I want you to remember this:  I not only know who I am.  I also know where I'm going.  May your troubles be less, your blessings more, and may nothing but happiness, come through your door.  Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil; it has no point."

May each of us have lived our lives so that when our ticket is punched, we don't have to worry about where we are going.

By Susan Walsh on Facebook
Happy New Year!!  Lisa Beretz, (518) 330-9277

Once in a while at Christmastime I catch myself complaining about little things, inconveniences, mainly “I don’t need this now,” I mutter, and wonder, “Why does this have to happen to me?  Is God mad at me?”  Then my thoughts turn to Mary and Joseph.  Face it.  Their story doesn’t center on sugar cookies and egg nog.

• Joseph was off work for weeks because the government made him travel to a distant town to fill out some stupid registration papers.
• You can bet the Nazareth biddies hounded Mary about her pregnancy.  Have you ever been called “slut”?
• Can you imagine taking a four-day donkey ride to Bethlehem at full term?  Of course, if Mary didn’t want to ride, she could always walk…or waddle.
• Think about a camping trip with winter winds whistling through your tent.  Or do you have a tent?
• How about being in labor in a dirty cattle barn?  One whiff was all Mary needed.
• And then, in the middle of the night after a grueling labor, there’s a herdsman banging on the door.

Why, of all things, did God let His own Son to be born under those conditions?  Was God mad at Mary and Joseph?  Of course not.  Maybe God allowed the stable so we could see His glory backlit amidst life’s humbling experiences.
Life does have its downside, its reversals, its annoyances.  And where is God when we despair?  He was with Mary and Joseph every moment, working out His plan, just as He is with you and me right now.
I guess Christmas reminds us to look beyond our aggravations.  God is doing something; you know, if we’ll lift our eyes above Bethlehem’s hovels for a moment, we might even catch a glimpse of the Christmas star.  By Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
 
Merry Christmas, Lisa Beretz, (518) 330-9277