I Can't Believe I Missed IT ?

I yawned and stretched. Then I climbed out of bed to begin another day. It was dark outside. Everything was still asleep outside. Everyone was still asleep inside – at least in our city.

I began my early morning reading and writing –waiting for the Sun to meet me as it would peek over the eastern horizon. It was a good morning.

Later in the morning I was asked a question that kind of knocked me off guard. The words were so simple…. “Did you see the Eclipse this morning?” My reply was, “What Eclipse – I didn’t even know there know there was one!?” I felt I had cheated myself out of something that should have been mine.

I had risen from my bed exactly when it was happening. It was dark outside in our backyard – which is to the west of our home. Then as I waited for the Sun to show in the east… it had been playing with the moon way over on the other side of house. AND I MISSED IT!

Now you have to understand that I am the kind of guy that stays up late to see this kind of thing – even if there are clouds – just so I can say that I saw it. I will stop everything and wait for the site to appear in front of me.

BUT I MISSED IT ! Go figure and it was a good one too.

So I settled with some Internet Searches and looked at other people’s shots from around the world… which I am featuring here in this Blog.

I am not sure that you have ever missed something. It has happened to me often I am afraid. Because I was busy or maybe because I was distracted because of my own desires and direction – I miss things happening around me. Just simply miss them. The world has gone on without me.

Flash Back…
In 1967 Alida and I were married. In early 1968 we moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick to live. We found our housing on a small road to the west of Fredericton – on the north shore of the St. John River – a few miles from the city’s boundary.

The house was at least a 100 years old and it was situated on the front edge of a large apple orchard. The orchard was a good one and produced some wonderful apples – tons of apples in fact. The rear of the apple orchard extended up the ridge north of the property – to the north. Then a pine tree line began and went forever behind the apple farm. You could fish for salmon right across the road from the house and pick "fiddle heads" at the river's edge.

‘Verda’ was the owner of the apple orchard and the wonderful old house. She rented the place to us with one stipulation that she was able to rent her own room back from us. She then became our guest in her own home. Our rent was already low and her payment back to us lowered the costs even more. Not only that – but we got along well. Verda was like family.

Times were tough for Verda. Her husband had left her with bills and huge home – plus the apple orchard.

One mealtime Verda announced that she had decided to sell the apple orchard and the property. She was being forced to in that she couldn’t carry on this way any longer financially.

She asked us if we would like to buy the place. It was only $54,000. The price included four great orchards with all kinds of apple trees. It had more than 100 acres of land with that price. The old house and the other apple buildings were all part of the deal plus a gigantic apple barn that was well insulated.

There was no way that I felt anything about buying the place. We were too busy with life looking at the job that I had and the future wealth that it offered. After all I was being paid a whopping $150 per week. The raise that I had just received had brought me up from $54.00 per week. I was so wealthy and had a wonderful future as a Computer Technician – I had my whole life ahead of me… nothing would stop us from making it big time.

We wished Verda well and moved to the north part of Fredericton to some brand new apartments. We rented an apartment here for a little more than we were paying at Verda – and we were by ourselves. We ate alone.

Many years later…
It would be in 1985 when I next returned to Fredericton as a minister. I was traveling across Canada by automobile. As we drove into Fredericton along the south shore of the St. John River it was like coming home again. It had been almost 17 years since I was last on that road. I looked across the river and my eyes caught the scene on the north shore. When we lived there I had done same many times. There was the old house sitting on the river edge. It was looking as stately as ever. But something had changed. The apple orchard was not longer there – but instead there were dozens of new and very large houses with streets and all that was needed to build a whole new community.

The $54,000 opportunity that I had turned down was gone. Each house is likely worth more that $200,000+ today – or much more!

I can’t believe that I missed it! Do you know what I might be worth today if I had owned that $54,000 property today?

I hate to think of what looking the other way cost me over these years.

To rub it in today I checked the site on Google Earth. Take a look at 45 Degrees59’05.53 N and 66Degrees46’02.82 W. at an elevation of 9m. Take a look from an eye elevation of 543 m above the ground. At that exact spot on earth where the little hand of Google Earth rests is the old farm house we lived in. Now take a look at the houses that are built all over the old apple orchard… all the way to the trees north of it. (Small photo included here…)

I won’t let that happen again…
Instead of being rich with money – God has given me people… lots of them.

Yesterday I met with a new widower. As I listened to him share how his day was going I felt deeply for him. He had just cleaned out his wife’s clothing – 12 large bags full ready for good will. He needed to talk.

During the day I met with another older man that is in palliative care now. He was lying quietly on his bed. I listened as his weak voice told me some scattered stories that tailed off like wisps of clouds. After I prayed for him he smiled.

Later I met with an old friend that shared some amazing things that made my heart leap inside of me and I felt young again.

Pause…
When I looked at the Google Earth Images today… there is about $4 Million worth of houses on the property today – that I could have bought for $54,000

But I have come to realize that each life I am with each day may be worth more than $500,000. Yesterday I was given more than 10 Million that was there just for me.

I am so very rich in another way… I have people that surround me. Some are hurting and others are filled with life – lots of life.

Today my intention is to fill each hour with new discoveries and people that need help. It certainly won’t be hard to do that.

I will not miss anymore of the opportunities around me…. God help me to keep that promise.

~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~

Resources - Lunar Stuff
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2007Aug28/TLE2007Aug28.html
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/98515.html
http://www.china.org.cn/english/China/222374.htm