I don't know if we're willing to admit it or not, but that white fluffy stuff is due very soon now.

To some it may seem like summer was just yesterday, and surprisingly to others it may seem like *forever* since Frosty was shrinking down to his last remnants on the lawn. Regardless which camp you "fall" into, the trees do not lie that times they are a changin' along with that snap in the air.

Folks often compare a year with a person's life, and supposing that were true - you don't really become aware of anything until about March. The days are getting warmer (really!) and by the time you are out there on your own Spring is in full swing. Summer you work away. Fall comes and you start to slow down and enjoy things. But alas, November/December come and you are old and feeble and find no comfort in the dark, cold days. It comes as a surprise, in a way. Even though we see people get old, we think "that's not me!" and then one day we wake up not as quick as we were, not as steady, not a lot of things. Ecclesiastes has a lot to say about this, in a bit of a humorous way.

But if we lived a year and only a year, about Fall some people would start talking about this snow stuff. To many of us it would be a fond and faint childhood memory, unlike the harsh bitter reality it is. We would long for "the good old days" and not realize they were not so good as we thought. We might not fully prepare for it, or worse try to rush at the last minute. I mean if you lived in the warm sun most of your life, you might not have a warm house since you never felt you needed it. You would be caught unprepared at the worst time. It is difficult to build a house in the winter. Concrete doesn't set well or sturdy. Wood tends to shrink a bit and then expand unpleasantly at the wrong times. Drywall cracks, shingles don't seal, things don't dry out well. Ack. And then there's time - do we have the time and energy to get this done in a rush? We're slowing down right when we need to speed up, spending money and time when there is so little of it left to us, and maybe not earning any more. Did we waste it away on silly pleasures? Some will despair. It doesn't have to be this way.

You see, we as parents should warn our children, back when their year has just begun, and all through their year while we're with them, that they need to plan for this future. They need a dwelling that carries them through to the end. That means they need to invest now and the sooner they make it a practice the better off they will be. Some people think "let me play now and don't bother me with that, I have plenty of time!" I recall once when I lived in Denver it snowed on July 20`^h. What if winter comes early?

Worse, what if the year ends early? There's no 12 month guarantee. We only have so much time to build the dwelling place for all eternity. Will we invest steadily throughout our lives while the learning and habits come easy to us, or try to rush it all in and hope for the best at the end - if we can even manage that? For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. In the end, where did we invest ourselves? In this worthless life, or the priceless one to come?

Randy