Best Laid Plans

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" Robert Burns - To a Mouse

That quote from a poem lays out perfectly how even the most carefully made plans can fail due to unforeseen circumstances. That verse and idea is seen in literature, specifically in John Steinbeck's book "Of Mice and Men," illustrating to us how life is unpredictable and life teaches some real hard lessons.

There's a lot of fear and worry in the financial markets right now.  It's understandable.  I have to admit, I no longer worry about it.  I don't even check my statements.  That's probably a good thing.  I remember being in college studying Finance and on the wall of my apartment, I had graph paper filling an entire wall.  I owned Wal Mart stock and Anheuser-Busch stock.  Each day I would chart the stock prices manually.  I would fret over the slightest correction.  Can you imagine?

But, I think it was the onslaught of the Covid insanity that my eyes were opened and I stopped worrying about things (like the stock market) that were beyond my control.  Perhaps you could call it escapism?  Avoidance? Whatever you call it, I began being concerned about more pressing, underlying issues like cultural rot, division, downturn in morals, the middle class being robbed from, and the largescale abandonment of religion, values and the Godly underpinnings of our nation.

All this other stuff... is just stuff.  If you are able to afford a new car and the insurance that comes along with it, it loses its value in no time at all. Wages are stagnant, costs rise, and people find themselves between a rock and a hard place.  Our landfills are full of things that were once someone's pride and joy and now rust and decay.  Material things that we set our sights on and place our hopes in slip through our fingers like dust.  I was thinking about these things the other day as I drove to an appointment for work.  In rural Allen Parish I made a turn down a road and saw this:

Here's a better picture of it from a closer vantage point:

I don't know the story of this home.  What a remarkable, well-appointed home it was.  I would guess it's not 20 years old.  Two stories, plenty of windows, sitting on a large parcel of land.  It had all the amenities one could ever want.  At some point, a couple drew up plans and built this home surely spending a quarter of a million dollars on their dream purchase.  I'm sure they were filled with joy, dreaming of the pitter patter of little feet and the family they'd raise here.  And now...

The dwelling has a dystopian feel.  Grass has overtaken the once manicured lawn.  There is a gaping hole in the roof.  Shingles are missing, windows broken.  I see sadness.  I'm sure tears were shed and discouragement enveloped the owners as they watched their dreams shrivel up and die.  The people are gone.  Rats and raccoons and possums now dwell in this spacious estate.  I was sad as I took these photos and drove on to my appointment to meet a man whose neighbor's dogs had chewed up the front bumpers and wheel opening moldings on his new vehicle and scratched up the paint.

I have no idea what the story is on this house.  Perhaps it was damaged in the hurricanes and wasn't properly insured?  No clue.  What I do know is this:  We need to have the right perspective on things.  That which we hold dearly can be taken from us at a moment's notice.  Plans that we make, for whatever reason, doesn't come to fruition.  The life we planned doesn't turn out like we thought it would.  Happiness based on these things is as elusive as a greased pig.  Faith and family is where the real wealth in our balance sheet rests.  Everything else is window dressing.  It's best to have an eternal perspective and rest in the peace that only God gives.

 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Matthew 6:19-21