April 19th

A day is God's blank canvas given to each of us. Some mornings we roll out of bed with an excitement for what's in store. Other mornings we are annoyingly roused from a half-sleep after tossing and turning in our beds all night, only to reluctantly place a foot on the floor to start the day. For many of us a day is a block on the calendar that we quickly mark-off as we head toward a vacation or a much anticipated event. But some days are indelibly etched on our hearts and memories as a day that significantly changed us. Even though we spend a lot of time making plans to avoid catastrophe or financial ruin, an event can ferociously sail out of nowhere, over the high walls of our supposed security, and land violently like a mortar shell into the midst of our routines. For me, that day was April 19th.

On April 19, 1975 I received Christ as my Savior. My life forever took a turn toward God and ultimately in becoming a minister. My son was also saved on the same day, some 25 years later. The event that swept me off my feet in a way like no other was the day I learned my mother had died--April 19, 1997.

No matter how much we scheme, plan, manipulate or finance our little world, God has a way of showing us Who's boss. Whenever that fateful day comes around on the calendar each year, I am reminded of just how fragile my life is--the value of every single second given to me. The Bible says, "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14).

I searched and list here a few of the numerous, significant events that also transpired on April 19th:

1995--Oklahoma City bombing on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building by Timothy McVeigh
1993--The Branch Davidian Compound near Waco, Texas, is destroyed in a fire after 51-day stand-off; 76 people die, including 24 British nationals and 20 children
1971--Charles Manson sentenced to death (later commuted to life) for the Sharon Tate murder
1948--ABC-TV network begins
1943--Jews attack Nazi occupation forces at Warsaw Ghetto
1861--Lincoln orders blockade of Confederate ports (Civil War)
1775--Revolution begins-Lexington Common, shot "heard round the world"
1770--Captain James Cook 1st sees Australia