Jack Bauer, Life, and the Many Surprises
- Published
- in Spiritual Life
Just finished watching 24 (Fox). More adventures of Jack Bauer. Now Jack Bauer can do most anything. Season after season he has protected the nation from terrorists. I am a little late to 24. I didn’t start watching until last season. And–enjoy it very much. Nothing is totally resolved. The viewer is always left in suspense.
Life is not always predictable. In fact, we are often left hanging with no clear resolution. Life is full of surprises. I wouldn’t have thought Indianapolis and New England would already be out of the playoffs. Maybe you would have thought your family would have stayed together. Maybe you would have thought your friends from a few years ago would still be your friends today.
What often adds a lot of drama to our lives are the choices we make. I look back at my college years (Eastfield College-Dallas and the University of North Texas) and at times, I made some really poor choices. Here a few choices I made back then:
- Deciding to never ask for help even when I was struggling in a subject
- Working until 2:00 AM when I had 8:00 classes
- Changing majors three times without ever asking anyone for advice
- Settling for a so-so grade in a few subjects I didn’t like
- Not choosing friends wisely
- Backing across a busy street and slamming my car into a car belonging to the sister of my Psychology professor
- Not asking more questions of my professors regarding subjects that interested me
But then other things have happened in my life that I would not have predicted. I would not have foreseen the following:
- That I would be a minister (unbelievable!)
- That my wife and two daughters would love me the way they do
- That I would get to known some wonderful people who love and encourage me
- That men and women would share their lives with me and trust me with things very personal
- That some friends would stand by me and be so loyal.
I don’t have a Jack Bauer kind of life. No shoot outs. No face to face moments with terrorists. No top secret work. Yet, I don’t know that I have had a predictable life either. There have been so many surprises!
What about you? What has happened in your life that you find amazing?
I was determined not to get involved in 24 again this year because I didn’t want to be tied to a show every week. Janice didn’t make the same resolution so as she watched, I listened … and got hooked again! So much for resolutions.
High on my list of surprises would be ending up in ministry when I’d planned all along to go into the field of psychology. As high on my list is the love of my wife and the relationship we have with our children. I was not a very good son to my parents and thought God just might “get even” by giving me a dose of myself. He was gracious.
I am also surprised by the joy of the church I presently serve. We’ve had some rough spots, but all in all, this is one of the most loving places I’ve ever known and they tolerate me! Even after 13 years.
Finally, the latest surprise is that I am stuck with Chipper, our 100 pound “puppy.” When we got her I still thought the children would be around for years. Now, for the most part, it’s just the three of us. Janice, Chipper, myself. And she (Chipper) will probably live another 12-15 years. That’s hard for me to envision … taking care of this large dog when I’m that old!
I find it amazing that people really do care about me even though I have alot of warts.
hmmm going to bed at 2 and waking up at 8…that sounds slightly familiar!
hmmm going to bed at 2 and waking up at 8…that sounds slightly familiar!
I couldnt have fallen on this post on a more perfect day. Here I am, baby due in just about 4 weeks. And just found out that I lost ANOTHER employee, whom I was hoping to replace me when I have the baby!! SURPRSIE SURPRISE!
What a great question, Jim, thanks for asking it!
I’m still amazed, almost 8 years into this, that I am a wife and even moreso a mom to THREE girls! I find it so amazing that a guy as smart, funny, and humble, and silly as Scott could want me for a wife. Still, even after really knowing me. And he still likes me.
I am amazed that I have a husband that loves me like he does and works as hard as he does without complaint. I don’t deserve him! I also am amazed by my mother and her ability to mother 36 years into this thing! I hope I’m like her!
Thanks to all of you. Good to know my child (Jamie) reads this. 🙂
Marrying my wife. Or rather, the fact that she married me.
And being able to actually have something to say about God… and communicate it in a way that people gel with.
I am continually more and more amazed at how lost I was and how much god loves me that he got personel with me. When I cried out he reached out, at that moment not comprehending the scope of what was happening, and as now I continue to walk with him, the farther from that moment, I look back and am AMAZED. GOD LOVES YOU.