She told me there was an exhibit for the public on "Work in America." I attended the exhibit at the local Chamber of Commerce. That was a "first" for me. This is something I probably would not have done if it were not the year of "firsts."
When I walked in, I was immediately met by 2 very friendly ladies that explained the exhibit to me. At the very beginning, there was a history along with some cool pictures about Alatex; a company that was the lifeblood of Andalusia's economy years ago. Many people around here have relatives that worked at Alatex. I've met many people that worked there a long time ago. I would love to have been able to know who the people in the pictures were. I'm sure that I would know some people in the pictures, but since they were from the 1950's and 1960's I was not able to recognize anyone.
After that, I walked into the main area where there were lots of pictures about different jobs. There were pictures of things like coal mining, people in the military, farmers, and industrial workers.
A guy with an interesting job
There were even pictures of places that the name of the town came from a local, prominent, company. I'd rather be from Hershey Pennsylvania than the town pictured below.
This guy was from the Viet Nam war. He reminds me of my Uncle Leslie.
All in all, a fairly interesting time. It was pretty interesting to think of all the ways that people have worked and made a living. After looking at all the pictures of people working and thinking about how hard some of them had to work, I decided to go hunting.
I was grateful as I drove away. Not only because I could go hunting, but also for people that have worked very hard in the past to provide for us a way of life today that is not nearly as hard as they had. Most of us don't have to get up before daylight and feed the livestock before we go off to work. We don't have to labor with primitive tools. It's hard to fully grasp that I live in a time when I can communicate with someone almost instantly that is a thousand miles away and my Dad grew up without electricity.
This reminds me how grateful I am for people that have left me a spiritual heritage. I'm grateful that I grew up in a church where the pastor believed and faithfully preached God's word. I'm grateful for Sunday School teachers who loved me and shared God's word with me. I'm grateful for a Sunday School teacher who would not only share with me how to know Christ as my Lord and Savior but took about 8 of us 10th grade boys to the coast for an overnight fishing trip. Thinking back even further, I'm grateful for men and women who gave their lives preaching and teaching about Jesus so I can hear about Him so easily. Without men like the Apostle Paul, us Gentiles would never have had the Gospel. It's a challenge to me to live a strong Christian heritage for my children and their friends. I want them to grow up around people who are bold in their faith in Jesus. It's really cool for them to see people sharing their faith, praying for one another, caring for the orphan and widows, going on mission trips and just falling more in love with Jesus. That's the heritage I want them to have.
Grateful for the abundant life
Barry
3 things I thank God for
1. Bro. Johnson, my pastor when I was growing up.
2. Coach Larry Thomas, my Sunday School teacher who shared his faith and took me fishing
3. The Apostle Paul
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