Eve's Shopping Trip

So, every now and then I think I'm kind of clever.  Yesterday was one of those days.  I and my baby, Sam, were shopping for groceries.  OK, so Sam is about 9 feet tall and almost 18 yrs old, but he's my baby.  Now, where was I?   Oh yeah, checking out at the grocery store.  For some reason, I thought of what I'd put in my next comic strip cartoon.  Remembering that I don't have a comic strip cartoon, I decided to lay it on you here.  The check-out lady didn't laugh when I told it but I have to go on the assumption she just didn't hear it right.  Anyway, I was encouraged because Sam thought it was funny.  Sam is CONSTANTLY thinking of jokes and puns and he is rarely impressed with my attempts at humor.  Here's a picture of Sam NOT laughing.

To set it up, I have to first be sure that you all know that a perennial is a plant that comes up every year.  You can count on it to be the same plant year after year.  An annual is a plant that you only get to enjoy one season as it will not be back in the Spring.  I am thinking maybe the check-out lady didn't know these things.

Having said that, here we go....

We have Eve (as in Adam and Eve) shopping.  She's wearing her strategically placed leaves and shopping at a plant nursery.  On one side of her you see leafy plants marked "perennials" and on the other side you see leafy plants marked "annuals".  Eve is looking rather disdainfully over her shoulder at the perennials.  The little word bubble above Eve says, "Those leaves are so LAST year's fashion!"

Are you laughing?  Grinning?  Even a pity smile?   Man!  This is a tough audience!

I also noticed the new fashions are getting skimpier every year!  Maybe I'll build on that before I go on the road with this show...

Happily Ever After!

What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase, "...and they lived happily ever after"?  Does a wedding come to mind?  Maybe a princess is involved?  Do you picture a young, good-looking couple? 

Of course we all know, there is no one who gets to experience only happy moments for the rest of their lives.  Even those in the most satisfying marriages still experience pain and misery in this life.  They can still catch a cold or stub a toe.  They likely will still face traffic jams, poor weather, health issues, financial problems, rising gas prices, clogged toilets.... you get the point.

I teach Sunday School and yesterday a young girl made it clear to me that "Happily Ever After" can happen.  She wasn't talking about a princess or even marriage when she spoke her words of wisdom.  She was saying a closing prayer shortly after we'd talked about living eternally.  She'd already said things like, "Help us all to have a good week".  She'd started another sentence with, "Please help us all..." when she lost her train of thought.  It is hard for kids to say public prayers.  In fact, it is hard for me...but that's another topic.  Anyway, this wise little girl finally came up with, "Please help us all....   to live happily ever after!"  She looked at me when she opened her eyes.  Her expression told me she was embarrassed.  She is about 12 years old and I suppose she felt she'd said something stupid.  I thought she'd said something incredibly wise!

Happily Ever After... the perfect way to describe life eternal with our God! 

It's that simple.