But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5

The good old days.

A lot of people speak fondly of the "good old days." That's because our rose-colored glasses (and selective memories) help us see the good times of those years and ignore that which was uncomfortable and hurtful. If truth is remembered accurately, and we are brave enough to say it, most of us will admit our high school years weren't always the good old days.

Without working too hard, most of us can remember cruel words that left lasting scars, the betrayal of best friends and true loves that were neither true nor real.

This takes us to Mary Lapkowicz and Ben Moser.

A few years ago, when Moser and Lapkowicz were in fourth grade, he was very kind to her, a girl who has Down syndrome. If she was being left out of an activity, he brought her in. If she was sad, he tried to cheer her up. Having seen his cousin's prom, Moser even told Lapkowicz he would, when the time was right, take her to prom.

As I say, that was a few years ago, and things change.

Eventually, Moser moved away, and the two lost track of each other. Moser became quarterback of his high school football team, and Lapkowicz, well, her father was the one who took her to high school homecoming. Moser and Lapkowicz lived separate lives, until his football team played her school. The two ran into each other and shared memories.

Now that could be the end of the story, but it's not. A short time later, Moser bought some balloons and wrote "PROM" on them. Remembering his promise from years ago, Moser asked Lapkowicz to prom. She said yes and the quarterback and the Down syndrome girl -- gussied up in a fancy, purple gown -- attended the festive occasion together.

A pretty good story, don't you think?

It's the kind of story that reminds Christians of their relationship with the Lord. Long ago, shortly after humankind had sinned, the Lord made a promise. He promised He would send a Savior to take us away from sin, the devil, and death. It was a promise that would offer unbelievable and unexpected happiness to believers in His Son.

It was a promise which many people were sure He had forgotten -- or had no intention of keeping.

But God remembered, and He kept that promise. And because He did, the present lives of believers have been changed and our eternity, well, our eternity ... those will be the real "good, old days."

THE PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, we give thanks for those people who remember and keep their promises. We are even more grateful for Your fulfillment of a promise made to save us from our spiritual enemies. Grant us grace to love our Savior who first loved us. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 39-41    John 12:27-50

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