"One of these things is not like the others...

One of these things is not the same...

Can you guess which one of these doesn't belong here?
Now it's time to play our game!"

This Sesame Street song, or a variation of it, came to mind when we were traveling about the country on the road to Yellowstone last month. The Melanson family and us (and Jessica!) made some interesting stops, one of which was at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI. If you're not familiar with this rather popular historical vacation spot, it's a place where various famous buildings were moved to, all nicely arranged with city blocks and paved streets/sidewalks. For instance, the Logan County courthouse that Abraham Lincoln once practiced a lot of lawyer time in is there, along with the homes of rather prominent Americans (Daniel Webster, Henry Ford, etc) One of the buildings that caught my eye was Thomas Edison's workshop.

While he did invent a lot of simple things and dabble in chemistry and electronics, once in a while Mr. Edison needed something flat out built. Something complex and mechanical. So, he had a large machine shop with all sorts of grinders, benders, cutters, welders, shapers, and so on. This was all steam driven, and very "modern" for its day. Indeed. I had no trouble figuring out what each piece of machinery did, and I suspect that if the steam power was fired back up the shop would be as useful today as it was then.

But there was one "item" in the middle of the shop that caught my eye. I took a picture of it, and remarked to Robert that it would be in a bulletin one day. Well, today's the day! It's not something you would probably think of being necessary, not surrounded by all those complex and precision tools. It looked a little, no, a LOT out of place (thus the song above). But once I thought about it, I realized you just couldn't live without it. And it was obviously well used, too.

Give up? Consider this. God spent a lot of time nudging the nation of Israel to stay the course. For a while they would be obedient, but then they would wander off and needed "fine tuned" with a little persecution. God would send a judge and deliver them back. But it wouldn't be long until they went chasing off after something else. Like spoiled children, when they had it good they often didn't appreciate it and when they had it bad they didn't always grasp what was to blame.

Later, when the nation split and the northern portion went whole hog into idol worship, God turned up the heat. Then when the southern portion watched all this and still didn't get it, God hammered on them, too, using the 70 year captivity to send a clear message.

And there you have it. God's children are similar today. He reasons with us, rewards us, punishes us, guides us, and shows us examples. I believe God has a hand in our jobs, in who we marry, and situations that come up which we should learn from. Do we get it? Sometimes we do, but sometimes a simple "Because I said so" needs to be pounded into us. It depends a lot on what our hearts are made up of.

Oh, the mysterious item that it appeared Thomas Edison's machine workers needed? A good old fashioned ANVIL. You can finesse something a lot, but once in a while it needs a goad beating, too. Believe it or not, it really is for your own good! Better to be whomped into a usable shape than thrown out on the scrap heap. Remember that next time it seems like God's loving discipline is tough to take. (showing discipline is showing love, too. Want your kids to become garbage? Think about it!)

Randy