Why didn't you tell us?
It was the spring of 1970 and Ruth, the boys and I were living in Southern California. We had arrived in California that spring and I needed a job until I could sign a contract for the following school year. I landed a long-term substitute-teaching job in Long Beach.
A few weeks before school was to get out I, along with all of the other teachers received an invitation in our mailboxes. The invitation was for a Friday night out with our spouses. There were no details except that we had to RSVP by a certain date.
Now nothing sets a bunch of women's tongues a wagg'n like an invitation with no details. I listened to lots of speculation on what it was to be about and I heard lots of excuses as to why some were not going to go. I overheard the lady whose classroom was next to the lady who gave out the invitations say, "This gal has some bucks and whatever she does, she does it right."
Well, that was enough for me, for anyone who does something right has the resources to see that it is done right. I turned in my RSVP and got ready for the surprise.
We were to meet in the school parking lot at 6:30 on a Friday night. Ruth and I along with about a dozed other couples showed up at the school on time. At 6:30 sharp an old double-decker bus pulled into the parking lot. Now a couple of years before that the city of Long Beach had purchased the "Queen Mary" and had her sail into the Long Beach harbor from England. They turned her into a convention center. Part of the deal was for a couple of the old London double-decker busses to be brought over on her deck to be used as a promotion for the Queen Mary.
When this old bus pulled into the parking lot I knew we were in for a time. We all boarded the bus, of course Ruth and I headed for the top deck, and we headed down the coast of California. When we got to the city of Newport Beach we pulled into the parking lot of a nice restaurant. We entered the restaurant and found that a room was reserved for us. The lady had already planned the menu and within a few minutes we found ourselves diving into some fine cuisine.
After dinner, and a fine one it was, we walked out of the restaurant and walked over to a ferry that carried us across the bay where a big party boat was waiting for us. It was now dark and this thing was lit up like a Christmas tree. The boat took a long, slow tour around the bay where some of the movie stars had their homes, or at least one of their homes. I can still remember going past John Wayne's home and wondering if the "Duke" was home tonight or was he sitting in some hot tub soothing his muscles after falling from his horse during a movie shot.
We had the boat to ourselves, she even had a band for us so we could dance if we wanted to and the bar was open for those who wanted to drink, and some did since they didn't have to drive home.
After the boat put us back on shore we walked back to the bus and returned back to the school parking lot.
Now, Monday morning in the teacher's lounge was something to savor. The teachers who had made the excuses for not wanting to go with us were moaning and groaning to say the least.
"Why didn't you tell us that this lady was going to go to all that expense?"
"Well" the lady whose classroom was next-door to the hostess said, "I told you that this lady had the bucks and whatever she does she does it right."
I have thought about that experience many times since and I am reminded of the time that Jesus said to his followers, "Follow me." They had all kinds of excuses why they didn't have the time or the inclination to follow him.
There will be multitudes of people who wake up from the resurrection and find that their excuses for not following Jesus have cost them to miss the grandest party, a wedding party actually, its the marriage supper of the Lamb, the Universe has ever imagined.
There will be Christians as well who wake up from the resurrection to find that God was telling the truth when he told us in First and Second Corinthians that we missed the purpose of our lives and we must stand before Christ and give an account of our lives. Our excuses for not serving him here while living on the planet really turned out to be excuses of unbelief.
It was the spring of 1970 and Ruth, the boys and I were living in Southern California. We had arrived in California that spring and I needed a job until I could sign a contract for the following school year. I landed a long-term substitute-teaching job in Long Beach.
A few weeks before school was to get out I, along with all of the other teachers received an invitation in our mailboxes. The invitation was for a Friday night out with our spouses. There were no details except that we had to RSVP by a certain date.
Now nothing sets a bunch of women's tongues a wagg'n like an invitation with no details. I listened to lots of speculation on what it was to be about and I heard lots of excuses as to why some were not going to go. I overheard the lady whose classroom was next to the lady who gave out the invitations say, "This gal has some bucks and whatever she does, she does it right."
Well, that was enough for me, for anyone who does something right has the resources to see that it is done right. I turned in my RSVP and got ready for the surprise.
We were to meet in the school parking lot at 6:30 on a Friday night. Ruth and I along with about a dozed other couples showed up at the school on time. At 6:30 sharp an old double-decker bus pulled into the parking lot. Now a couple of years before that the city of Long Beach had purchased the "Queen Mary" and had her sail into the Long Beach harbor from England. They turned her into a convention center. Part of the deal was for a couple of the old London double-decker busses to be brought over on her deck to be used as a promotion for the Queen Mary.
When this old bus pulled into the parking lot I knew we were in for a time. We all boarded the bus, of course Ruth and I headed for the top deck, and we headed down the coast of California. When we got to the city of Newport Beach we pulled into the parking lot of a nice restaurant. We entered the restaurant and found that a room was reserved for us. The lady had already planned the menu and within a few minutes we found ourselves diving into some fine cuisine.
After dinner, and a fine one it was, we walked out of the restaurant and walked over to a ferry that carried us across the bay where a big party boat was waiting for us. It was now dark and this thing was lit up like a Christmas tree. The boat took a long, slow tour around the bay where some of the movie stars had their homes, or at least one of their homes. I can still remember going past John Wayne's home and wondering if the "Duke" was home tonight or was he sitting in some hot tub soothing his muscles after falling from his horse during a movie shot.
We had the boat to ourselves, she even had a band for us so we could dance if we wanted to and the bar was open for those who wanted to drink, and some did since they didn't have to drive home.
After the boat put us back on shore we walked back to the bus and returned back to the school parking lot.
Now, Monday morning in the teacher's lounge was something to savor. The teachers who had made the excuses for not wanting to go with us were moaning and groaning to say the least.
"Why didn't you tell us that this lady was going to go to all that expense?"
"Well" the lady whose classroom was next-door to the hostess said, "I told you that this lady had the bucks and whatever she does she does it right."
I have thought about that experience many times since and I am reminded of the time that Jesus said to his followers, "Follow me." They had all kinds of excuses why they didn't have the time or the inclination to follow him.
There will be multitudes of people who wake up from the resurrection and find that their excuses for not following Jesus have cost them to miss the grandest party, a wedding party actually, its the marriage supper of the Lamb, the Universe has ever imagined.
There will be Christians as well who wake up from the resurrection to find that God was telling the truth when he told us in First and Second Corinthians that we missed the purpose of our lives and we must stand before Christ and give an account of our lives. Our excuses for not serving him here while living on the planet really turned out to be excuses of unbelief.
posted by Jim Burton at 7:47 AM
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