Friday, September 02, 2005

Oh, the cheesy love is flowing today.

When I was younger, my father (a minister) told me that I would never see the end of the millennium. He said Jesus would come before then, and life on Earth would be done. He talked about how glad he was that I would never have to suffer and get old. I'm sure he said other things, but what struck me was the fact that I wouldn't reach the age of 30. I probably wouldn't get married. I would never have my own children. I would not have a home of my own, or be a grown-up. I remember timidly telling him that I wasn't sure I wanted Jesus to come so soon, I wasn't at all pleased with the idea of never growing old. He was shocked. How could I not want the Second Coming? Didn't heaven sound so much better than life on earth? Wasn't I waiting to see the Lord?
Well, actually no. I didn't tell Dad, but I felt extremely guilty. I was looking forward to being a grown lady. I wanted a wedding. I couldn't wait to have babies, raise a family, and see what life had in store for me. For years I worried that Jesus would come, and I wouldn't be ready. Not "ready" like the evangelists talked about. Ready as in, done with life here. Full of experiences. Ready to move on to what sounded like a much quieter (dare I say dull?) life. Of course, being a preacher's kid, these negative thoughts gave me guilt. So then I had to worry that if indeed the world ended, and I was not happy about it, that Jesus would know, and wouldn't take me with Him.
When 2000 rolled around, I was secretly surprised, and thrilled. Dad was wrong! I was a grown-up! I might still have time to do all those things, and not worry about the Second Coming interfering with my plans!
I don't know how Dad felt when years passed, and we were still stuck on this planet. I don't know if he has any other predictions about the end of the world, and a timeline for life. Personally, I think I got the best of everything. I have joy, peace, and happiness. I didn't have my life cut short. But I still got to experience heaven, right down to the angels.

11 comments:

Kim said...

Hello, Michele sent me.

Sleeping Mommy said...

You know what? We really have lived a parallel existence. My dad used to say the exact same thing to me.

I just kept quoting back to him that (I think Mathew said) we would not know the time or place or date or hour before Jesus comes again.

Or something like that.

If dad were still alive today I know he would see what is happening in New Orleans as a sign...

J&J's Mom said...

Didn't know you were having issues with cholesterol...must be you don't have enough fire and brimstone in your diet ;0) Glad you see the angels in your terrors and you got to be a "lady" and a funny one at that!

Mrs. Falkenberg said...

Yeah, J& J, I seem to have somehow gotten onto the spam list from hell. I left it up there so your comment would make sense....usually I just delete them.
Sleeping Mommy, I'm pretty sure I'm you and you're me, and we're married to the same guy. I hope you're enjoying this more than I am.

OldHorsetailSnake said...

My preacher Grandad used to tell us about "The Man of Sin" who would be doing battle with Jesus. This guy is supposed to come from Russia. I don't see any candidates right now, so we got a few years yet.

Anonymous said...

I think about this a lot. I love my life and there is still so much I want to experience on earth. It's so hard to imagine a place more incredible and amazing and beautiful than here. Sometimes I pray "I love you Jesus... but please don't come back yet."

But I guess when the times comes, it's not like I'll have a choice!

JustLinda said...

I think in some ways, it's easier to be a non-believing heathen like me. I never had this worry. In other ways, not so much... this Katrina business leaves me wishing I could blame God or at least pray to him about it. But I can't because, well, I don't believe in him. haha

Anonymous said...

Howdy - I tried to email you (averagemomblog@yahoo.com) but it came back undeliverable. Write me so I can send you a note...

And thanks so much for coming and visiting my place in space. And you left TWO comments! yay! lol

danelle62@gmail.com

-E said...

Michele sent me as well.

I like this entry. I also felt like I wanted a full life before any chance of "The End Times" because I would miss out on so much! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm glad that you're experiencing the life you wanted to experience. Even if I were guaranteed salvation, I'd still want to experience this life to its fullest. I don't understand the rush toward the end. The journey is so fascinating.

Great post. Stumbled in from Michele's blog. :) 6:49AM on Labor day monday, and I'm fighting with some code still, and took a break to wait for that second wind. :)

DebbieDoesLife said...

Found your blog by way of another, love your writing.

You poor thing - I can't imagine growing up worrying that Jesus was coming (and trying to be happy about that!) Its a tough concept to teach our kids (the goodness of heaven, yet we don't really want to be in a hurry to get there) but I'm thinking your dad may have wanted to choose a different way to teach the Second Coming. It's funny now, at least I think your're laughing!