A piece of bubble gum. That's right, bubble gum. Aaron wanted to write a bulletin for me, and asked me for a topic. I said the first thing that came to mind. He didn't think it could be done, but I dunno about that. I think God is everywhere, in everything, and it doesn't matter if we are looking for him or not, He's still there. So on a lark I decided to jot some thoughts down.

This is the part where Kieran rolls his eyes and says "oh brother, another one of Randy's cute stories" but actually I think bubble gum has a lot more merit than that. Not only can we make comparisons from its properties, but it's uses as well. Right off the cuff, think about bubble gum. You chew it, your breath freshens, your spirits lift, you make big pink bubbles, and eventually you get rid of it. Does that sound like something you can get a lesson from? Let's break it down.

Bubble gum comes in bright colorful packaging. It's got lots of sugar, and so it has a great taste. Scientists have experimented with types of it that never get hard in your mouth and never lose that rush of flavor, but no one sells it that way. Why? Not because they think you'd buy one piece and never buy another one again. Not because sales would go down since it lasted longer and you'd need less of it. No, because all that chewing and your mouth will get pretty tired. The sellers don't want you to become disenchanted with it in any way. Never mind that it's rude to go around chawing like a cow all day long. .

Even with bubble gum, there's a time and a place for it. Bubble blowing is fun, too, but what happens when you show off and blow one too big? You've got pink sticky stuff on your clothes, your face, and in your hair. Speaking of hair, how many times have you gone to sleep with bubble gum in your mouth and woke up with it stuck to your head? (I confess, I did this once) It's fun to chew, but you can't be irresponsible even with bubble gum!

Things of this world are like this. They are bright and colorful, and sweet to the taste. We enjoy many things besides just bubble gum in this world that God has made for us. Some of the things we enjoy we should, and some we should not. Some of the things make us feel good, and hey even make us feel great. Certainly they lift our spirits! Yet none of them last, not even our very lives. Scientists can probably keep us alive a loooong time with tubes and wires, but what kind of life is that, really? And do you really want to be chewing that piece of wild cherry gum for a month? I mean, give me a little variety in taste, please!

We can abuse so many, many things. I like driving my car, swimming, even playing football, but they all have their time and place (and what if you fell asleep doing anyone of these? Not good). You get prideful in your life and sometimes your head swells up, or you start showing off. You'd be lucky if all you had to show for your mistake was a little pink gum on your face! So many people out of pride do so many foolish things that have much greater consequences!

Bubble gum has some other dandy uses, though. Or does it? You get a hole in something like a pot and you can stick it in a blob on the inside and patch the hole, if you don't mind some leaks and germs in there with it. To hear some people, that's what they must keep bubble gum around for. I mean, yes, you could patch up the pot right by using some solid stuff and welding a perfect, proper fix. Just like you can patch up your life right by using the bible and the perfect, proper fixes found in there. But some people would rather use their own wisdom to fix up their life. It seems like that would be just like someone who patches a hole with bubble gum. Sure, it's gonna have to be fixed over and over again, and sure the leak slows down to a trickle for a short while, but that's much better than the bother of doing a real fix. Right? Hmmmm....

And where does bubble gum end up? Well, the reason I mentioned it at all to Aaron was because I had found a piece stuck under a pew. Wow, it had been there for years. All that preaching it went through, and no hope of salvation. So sure, there are lots of little, quick lessons a bit of bubble gum can teach us. But do not get me started on that "don't swallow it or it will sit in your stomach forever" talk!

Randy