New Life

Now that Easter has come and gone and the calendar says it is spring even with 10 inches of snow on the ground, it is time for new life. It is the time for the flowers to start growing, the grass to turn green, the trees to grow leafs, the sun to shine with warmth, and maybe time for a new attitude on life. The winter can be depressing in Michigan with little sunshine, the seemingly never ending cold weather, and no one wanting to venture out into the wicked winter weather. My point is that this is the time of year to give your life the excitement of a fresh start. Soon everything around you will be growing new life and having wonderful colors to brighten up our lives. "Why did you throw that brick at my car." The little boy crying and scared to death said, "Mister I have been trying to get someone’s attention for a half an hour, but no one will stop. My brother is hurt and I am too small to help him." The young executive looked over on the sidewalk to find this little boys brother lying on the sidewalk with a wheelchair next to him. The boy said, "I was wheeling him back home, when we hit a bump and the wheelchair dumped him out onto the sidewalk." The executive helped the boy back into the wheelchair and wheeled him home to safety. As he walked back to his car he thought, wow some little boy in need had to throw a brick at me to catch my attention. Is this how you live your life? Maybe our new life in the spring should make us slow down and smell the roses. Life is grand we are just living it so fast that we are missing the important parts.

Are you a positive thinker? Do you always do what is right? Do you think about your actions, and how they will affect others around you? I know that sometimes, ok most of the time; I let things bother me way too much. My faith says to turn to the other cheek, but that is easier said then done. Firefighters are strong, aggressive, hard working people who want to fix everything. With the stock market going down daily, sub prime loan crisis, housing crisis, credit crisis, and governmental cut backs, it is hard to have a positive outlook on life if you let it get to you.

Here is a story that I heard from my Pastor on Easter Sunday that has made me think about slowing down my life, trying to be more positive, and making the world a better place. It is a story about a young executive who had just bought his brand new BMW. He was driving his new prize possession down the road when he heard a loud crash on the side of his car. He slammed on the brake and pulled over to the side of the road. There in the road laid a brick and a large dent in the passenger side of the beautiful BMW. He stomped back down the road where he found this boy in between two parked cars crying. He yelled at the little boy,

Rick Nason

President PPFFU