I read a story recently in our local paper about a reporter that went to buy a toilet seat of all things and he assumed that all toilet seats were alike and any one that he bought would fit his toilet.  He purchased his toilet seat and went home and attempted to install it and it wouldn't fit. How could this be, it's just a normal toilet and any normal toilet seat should fit it. He forgot to take into consideration that there are different styles for different architecture, for various different tastes in this world and there is more than one type of toilet seat and more than one manufacturer of toilets and each is slightly different. Now, I don't want to insult him because so many people assume that everything they have is the normal or standard one that is the same thing that everyone else has.

I worked in auto parts for years, one of my favorite jobs, but people would come in and look you straight in the eye and say “hello, I need a fuel pump for my car”. I would pause waiting for them to tell me what make and model of car they had and what size engine and they would look at me like “aren’t you going to get my fuel pump”. I wanted to grab them by the collar and shake them and say “you have to give me some information for me to be able to look up what fuel pump fits your car”. There were also those that would come in and say “I have a Chevrolet pickup, I want a fuel pump” and you would ask them what year and they'd tell you that it didn't matter and that all Chevrolet fuel pumps are the same for all Chevrolet engines. So, you go back and grab a Chevrolet fuel pump and bring it out, open the box and ask “is this what fits your Chevrolet truck” and they say “of course not, that's not a Chevrolet fuel pump” and you say “I'm sorry, but this is a Chevrolet fuel pump, this one fits the 1969 Chevrolet 350 engine with towing package”. Then they want to speak to someone else that knows what they're doing. I wanted to say to them “I’d like to speak to someone that knew what they had so I could give them the proper fuel pump”. If we go by that kind of logic then you should be able to pick up the phone and call the furniture store and tell them to deliver one of the couches they have in stock and the furniture store should deliver it. I think if the furniture store grabs a couch, loads it on a truck and brings it to you and, low and behold, they've got a 30 foot couch for your 19 foot living room and it's purple! What would you think of that? 

You know that everything has its place and its purpose and not everything is exactly alike. It's just like people, no two of us is exactly alike. It would be a pretty boring and sad world if we were. Just think about it for a second, if we were all bad guys killing people all the time that would be horrible, wouldn't it, and if we were all goody two shoes, Pollyannas everything would be so perfect it would be sickening. You my friends have a purpose in this world. It may not always be clear and I think that not everyone really knows what the purpose they have really is but, believe me, you do have an important purpose in this life. You are important to what makes this world go round and without you there would be a piece missing. Too many times have I seen people depressed and saddened about the fact that their life is meaningless.  To that I’d say don't you be foolish, you are the most important person in the world. You may not have your name on Broadway, you may not make $20 million per movie, but you are special. You were put on this earth to either keep something from happening or make something happen or help someone fulfill their destiny. I think sometimes that the stay-at-home mother feels like she hasn't accomplished anything in her life, but giving birth and raising a family is one of the most important tasks in this world. One of the greatest purposes I know of is that of a father, to lead and guide his children on their path. You may never live to see it but one of your future children or grandchildren or even great, great, great-grandchildren needed to be here and without you they wouldn't be here. I really don't know how to put into words how important you really are. You fit into a mosaic that brightens lives, that gives meaning to what we live for.

I know, I suffer from depression at times, but I fall back on my movies because that's one of my passions and there have been several that tell us of the intertwining of our lives with many others that we have never considered. Take Frank Capra’s “It's a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart. Without Jimmy Stewart’s character, the world was a much darker place. In a recent television series called Warehouse 13 they did a remake of sorts and it was called the Greatest Gift. Life itself is the greatest gift. It was given to you by God and your parents. Too many times we forget that as humans we are intertwined with other people so much that if one of us was to just disappear, it would cause devastating and catastrophic consequences to the future and to the people we love. Please don't take my meaning of life lightly, you are a precious gift. You must live to fulfill your destiny and walking the path of your journey may not be easy but its rewards are heavenly. You see, it's not just me that loves you, our God loved us all so much that he gave his only Son so that our sins could be forgiven and without Him fulfilling his destiny, I assure you it would be a much darker place.

So when you go to pick up a part for something that you need a part for, remember that no two things are exactly alike and bring as much information with you as possible. When you go through life along your path as you track forth through your journey, remember to pick up the proper information that will see you through to your final destination. Your family, your friends and your faith can help you to find the proper path that was meant for you, but I can't help but think that the book that we put our faith in, day in and day out, that was written by a divine hand has the proper and just information you need.