Ponder? Do We Ever Ponder?

PONDER? DO WE EVER PONDER? By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

Luke 2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19 (NASB) But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. Luke 2:19 (MSG) Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself.

Perhaps now days we are so busy we take little time to ponder. I always thought if I ever wrote a book I would call it PONDERING POINTS or maybe POINTS TO PONDER.

**PONDER: significant enough to be worth considering, TO THINK ABOUT OR CONSIDER CAREFULLY, to weigh in the mind, to reflect, consider usually quietly and deeply. I love to ponder and think about deeper issues of daily life. I think we often miss some great opportunities to “PONDER.” We must learn to think about what we think about, ponder.

PONDER THIS:

When we speak we talk of what we already know. When we listen we might have the opportunity to learn something new. Many refuse to shut up long enough to listen. God teaches us a lesson in that he gave us two ears and one mouth. Could you imagine how terrible this world would be if everyone had two mouths? James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: James 1:19 (MSG) Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear.

MAYBE TO PONDER IN OLD TESTAMENT DAY WAS TO MEDITATE? PONDERING HAS A WAY OF LEADING US INTO DEEPER THINGS. THERE WAS A GROUP IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THAT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO PONDER AND MEDITATE ON A DEEPER LEVEL. Here is a story that is a wonderful example for us to ponder. If we were in Washington, D.C. visiting monuments, we might miss this great point?

SIX BOYS AND 13 HANDS. By James Bradley …

Each year I am hired to go to Washington, DC, with the eighth grade class from Clinton, WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation’s capital, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable. .

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II. Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked? 'Where are you guys from?' I told him that we were from Wisconsin. 'Hey, I'm a cheese head, too! Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story.

(It was James Bradley who just happened to be in Washington, DC, to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who had passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington, DC, but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.)

When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his words that night.) 'My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin. My dad is on that statue, and I wrote a book called 'Flags of Our Fathers'. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me.

'Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game called 'War.' But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are people who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18 and 19 years old - and it was so hard that the ones who did make it home never even would talk to their families about it.