William James, an American philosopher, historian and psychologist once remarked: “Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.” 1 Peter 1:23 reminds us: “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”
We all experience misfortune in our life from time to time. It is synonymous with bad luck or the state of having bad luck. It usually happens at the most untimely of moments when we least expect it. It strikes without warning and can cause disastrous effects. It may induce heartbreak or even resentment. 1 Peter 5:10 reminds us: "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
Misfortune is not pleasant, everyone acknowledges that. However, we need to keep it in perspective. If we allow it to overcome us or dwell on it, we achieve nothing. Aya Kito, a Japanese diarist, once vociferously summed up misfortune as: “A handicapped person is a human being with the same heart as anyone else. It’s not a misfortune if you can’t hear - it’s an inconvenience.” Psalm 71:20-24 confirms: “You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again. I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed. And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointed who sought to do me hurt.”
There was once a slightly neurotic pet hamster named Harvey, with an extremely inquisitive nature, who lived with a family in a small village in the heart of the countryside. He loved company, food and attention. His two favourite positions in life were to sit on the shoulders of a family member where he could watch all the activities taking place, especially if there was food preparation in progress in the kitchen. He was quite restless and would constantly change from one shoulder to the other via the collar for the best view. His other favourite position was to be snuggled down in the palm of a hand being petted gently with a finger.
It was Christmas Eve and the festivities were about to begin. Rosemary was in the kitchen preparing the buffet meal for the pre-Christmas party that occurred every year and included her renowned speciality, which always featured in the event. There were usually between ten and fifteen guests at the party which was always considered a memorable way to begin this very special time of year. Rosemary was proudly wearing the Christmas present that had been given to her early by her loving husband. It was a pair of beautiful pearl earrings set in platinum. They consisted of a heart-shaped design, firmly surrounding two genuine pearls with an additional drop that contained a larger pearl at the base. It was quite unique and extremely expensive. She was so proud to wear them.
Rosemary was preparing her “Pièce de résistance” which was always the prime focus of attention at the party. Harvey was located comfortably on her shoulder, as usual, changing his position regularly.
The speciality consisted of a warm punch cocktail containing several different red wines which complemented each other, a selection of spirits, plenty of fruit and a special home-brewed wine containing ingredients known only to Rosemary and her mother who had given her the recipe. It had been in existence for many years and was often fondly spoken about by the neighbours who were lucky enough to be invited to encounter the distinct pleasure of tasting the concoction. It certainly was considered potent and always made every party go with a swing. Her parties were always memorable occasions. Eventually, the guests began to arrive for the evening function. To one side of the living room was a large table draped in white and red table cloths that displayed the feast. There was a selection of different sandwiches, mini crab cakes with lime chive mayonnaise, various quiches, sausage rolls, mini pork pies, shrimps, barbecue ribs, chicken portions, a choice of nibbles, cakes, a huge array of salad ingredients and several other items. All in all, a feast fit for a king.
In the centre of the table was a large beautiful cut glass punch bowl and ladle surrounded by glassware which contained the highlight of the evening. Later that evening, Rosemary approached a close friend who was in attendance, to proudly show off the beautiful earrings that her husband had given her. Her friend looked at them in amazement and then responded: "But Rosemary, you only have one on display. The other appears to be missing." Rosemary raised her hands to feel for them and suddenly her face changed to one of horror. She rushed into the kitchen to see if she could locate the missing one, but to no avail. She was devastated. What on earth could have happened to it?
She became extremely anxious. Matthew 6:25-34 reminds us: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
She eventually decided that she would have to search more closely for it later. Surely, it had to be somewhere in the house? She offered her friend a drink of her famous punch which was readily accepted. She proceeded to the table and inserted the ladle into the punch bowl to pour some of the contents into a glass, but as she poured she heard a loud chink. This puzzled her somewhat and so she decided to investigate further. She obtained a strainer and an empty bowl to pour the contents of the glass into it. As she did this, to her amazement, her missing earring appeared, unfortunately with a noticeable reduction to the original size of all the beautiful pearls. It should be noted that pearls contain calcium carbonate that reacts to acetic acid which can dissolve them. It subsequently became evident that Harvey had obviously dislodged one of the earrings from her ear while he was running about, and it had subsequently fallen into the bowl during the preparation of the punch. Over the remaining period of time, before the discovery, the acetic acid from the wine had partly dissolved her pearls. What a calamity! Isaiah 45:7 confirms: “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
Amen.
