Personal Awards

There are Awards and there are Awards! In the one above, the Member of Parliament who granted this interpreted everything right… Except for my being “opposed to populism.” How the Honorable Member of Parliament interpreted this I’m not sure. Truthfully, I was a Populist even in the womb! Just outside the womb, I was eating pablum as a Populist! And my DNA is almost embarrassing with “Populist!” all over it!

But the interpretation is forgivable. Indeed, part of our “spirit of the age” is to interpret things with our spin on them. Some do this more than others. Some do this better than others! Even the Apostles did this – just to receive a gentle, routine rebuke from their Master. Today, laws are written all over the place with interpretation always in mind. That is, at the most opportune moment, a law subject to interpretation – will be interpreted by the prevailing power brokers for their special interests and ideologies. (Sigh!)

Getting back to Creative Writing…. The first song I composed put me into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. A few years later, the first sonnet I wrote won 1st Prize in an American national contest! So at that point I unashamedly – indeed, humbly – realized my writing abilities were not merely talents but Gifts! Subsequently, contests I entered I almost always won! From the most sublime to the most ridiculous! Once I wrote a sonnet in Switzerland, sent it to a contest in the USA and received the winning check in Israel… where a bank almost wouldn’t let me cash it! (Smile!)

One day, while making pop corn, I burned my hand and went into shock! After my release from the hospital, I sent the following little poem to a local contest with particular guidelines:

“There once was a squirrel named Trevor. I thought he would come by forever! But when I gave him a waffle, it must have been awful! He never came back again, never!“

A few days later, as I was lying in bed with my hand bandaged and propped up, there was a knock at the door. It was a large box. “Here’s your Poetry Award!” the person congratulated me and left. It was $300 in new books for winning First Place! I went into shock again but of a different kind. Here was the tenderness of the Father’s love and care. I now had plenty to read in my momentary convalescence. As the saying goes, “God gives us our talents. He helps us develop them. And He even rewards us for using them!” Wow! If you’re not already a Christian, I urge you to become one today!

Just invite Jesus into your heart. Ask forgiveness for your sins. Ask Him for the Strength to repent and thank him for a profound regeneration. Go out and get a good Bible and do your Best to read it every morning! It transforms your day and gives you Strength you never knew was possible! It’s the Greatest Award you will ever receive! And as the old cliché goes, “Seven days without the Bible makes one weak…..” Absolutely true!