Life Does Change

10/9/2018

Aaah, cooler weather. The folks around this mountain and down in the Wills Valley (Fort Payne) have mostly been griping about the heat. This week the cooler days and nights are getting here. This morning has really cool feel and it is fine to feel it, but I sort of liked the warmer weather—guess I’m the one out of step, huh?

Judith Kay Cohen used to be a singer, She married a man in 1985 and I don’t believe she’s recorded anything since. She really took the music world by storm in the 70s and was said by one of those r&r prophets to be the next big star, gonna make the world forget about the rest of the females in rock music. But, she chose otherwise. I don’t know anything about her life since 1985, except that she’s still married to the same man, has a couple of children. The reason I’m writing about her is that story instead of what might have been. You see, she was Juice Newton, and one of her songs, “Playin With the Queen of Hearts” was the SIMH this morning. I applaud her decision and hope that it was an Holy Spirit led decision that moved her away from the limelight.

Many lives, like the one just mentioned, do not turn out in the manner all indicators show. Some are changed by tragedy. In the basketball season of the ’58-’59 Indiana high schools there were two boys neck and neck for the high scorer of the year. Last game of the season their teams played each other—it was the talk of the year! In that game, one scored 51 points, the other 49 points, wow!

Almost immediately after the finish of the season, both boys committed to go to Indiana University. Excitement really grew in anticipation of the pairing up and how great it would make IU’s future! But, oh how things changed. Ray Pavy was in a car crash which left him partially paralyzed, never to play basketball again. Jimmy Rayl went on to play, but not with his other super star buddy.

You can read all about this if you want to by just putting their names in Google. The multiple press stories are still fresh in the basketball history of Indiana. Both are in the IHSAA Hall of Fame. At the time of tragedy I was finishing up my Senior year. With all my teammates, we mourned for Ray Pavy. We saw something in the tragedy that many probably didn’t. Our coach brought this up once, telling us to be careful on the road, don’t over-step what we should do, etc., because we were not invincible (teens have a tendency to think, “not me .”)

Isn’t it interesting how quickly life can change for us. Fifty years after young Mr. Pavy was paralyzed, his wife and care-giver was in a multiple tragedy at the 2011 Indiana State Fair. She had a long road to recovery, but no further stories showed anything more to say here.  (Anytime you get to thinking life isn’t fair to you, perhaps this story will keep your thoughts in perspective.)

So, my friends, thank the Lord for this day, thank Him for knowing you because of Christ’s sacrifice for you on the cross, and get on with living your life the way God’s Holy Word has directed you. And in case you don’t know that way, or have forgotten it, just obey 2 Tim.2:15. (And read and re-read and re-read Rom.8:28-39, ‘bout 50 times!)

thanks for reading, the Elder