Every Day is a Bonus

His name is Joe Demler.
His round cheeks and full smile show off a countenance of a happy man in his mid to late 80's.
His cheeks weren't always round.
His smile didn't always come this easy.
Hiding in a farmhouse in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, a shell from a German tank sent Joe up into the second floor. He was captured.
He was herded onto a train  and like a cord of wood stood side by side other prisoners of war for four days without food or water. Many men never made it to the intended destination. Joe did.
He served in a Nazi prison camp for three months.
When he was freed he weighed 70 pounds with an appropriate nickname of "The Human Skeleton."
Upon tasting freedom on March 29, 1945, Joe offered these life lessons...

"I learned two things.  One is that I learned how to pray in a Nazi prison camp, and from now on, every day is a bonus."

 

Joe Demler - March 29, 1945

There is a group now known as the "Stars and Stripes Honor Flight" which gathers WWII veterans together for trips to Washington, D.C. ( A group arrived in Washington D.C. yesterday amidst the government shutdown and their determination to visit the World War II Memorial was not deterred.) As the group gets ready to get on the bus or get on the plane they are each given a windbreaker type jacket with these words inscribed on the back...
"Every Day Is A Bonus." 

My iWitness...

"This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118. 24)

My name is David.
I am six feet, two inches tall.
I weigh about 215 pounds.
I have never been shot at.
I have never been in a situation where I have had to watch the very life of the men around me be extinguished.
I have never been imprisoned for three months (not even for three minutes).
I have never had my freedom stripped from me.
I have never wondered where the next meal is coming from.
I have never been without a paycheck since 1988 when I graduated from seminary.
The list could go on and on...

It's easy to get lazy.
It's easy to take things for granted.

Thank you for this stark reminder Joe Demler!
Thank you for reminding me that...

"Every Day Is A Bonus!"

And...
Thank you God for the day behind me and the day before me.
This is the day that You have made!
There will never be another day like this one in the history of the world.

I have a brilliant idea!!!!

Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

And that's my iWitness...
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!