On Assignment
Happy New Year dear readers! I was reminiscing of some of my childhood memories of past Christmas holidays and New Years Eve experiences. One that comes to mind was when I was probably 12 or 13 years old; my family had been invited to some nearby neighbors for the evening. This family had blessed Sis and I many times throughout the years; taking us golfing at the Hillcrest Golf Course (renting a golf cart was the highlight!), countless Warrior games and always stopping at the Snow Hut on our way out of town so we knew that New Years Eve would be no different. Let’s just say the banquet table was overflowing with food, salty and sweet. The three of us kids made our home on the living room floor while we settled in for a night of games for hours on end. We also had treats alongside us as we played. It was a kids’ dream come true.
The treats I had eyed up were those pastel-colored party mints. You know the kind... the little wafer-type confectionary made by Allan called “Misty Mints” – smooth mint drops. They were separated in four compartments of orange, mint, peach and peppermint flavors and came in a rosette shape; made of something like white chocolate, but flavoured with mint. That New Years Eve I kept eating and eating and eating those delicious morsels until the clock struck midnight when I began to feel nauseous and sick to my stomach. We had such a fun night of games and eating but it was spoiled by my overindulgence of Misty Mints. Unfortunately, since Hershey bought out the Allan confectionary company, they discontinued this candy; maybe this is for my betterment.
This reminds me of the true story of the Amalekites who “...had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag ... And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.” When David found out, he and his men were very distraught. Encouraging himself in the Lord, he enquired of Abiathar, the priest, of what to do. The priest answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” So David set out, finding a young Egyptian along the way who had been with the Amalekites but left behind due to illness. After David nursed him to health, the young man directed David and his army to the enemies. When they arrived, they found the men “...spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. (So) David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all.”
I think it is safe to say we’ve all overindulged in something at some point in our life. The danger is to live with no boundaries, greed and not knowing when to stop, thus finding ourselves reaping the consequences. Have a safe and self-controlled New Years!