MAY   2007

 

 

Dear Mt. Olive Family and Friends,

I would like to sincerely thank all of you who were able to attend the birthday party that was given for me, or who were unable to attend but sent birthday greetings my way.  I still can’t believe that I was caught so totally off guard!  I didn’t have a clue!  Special thanks to Linda Petersen for a multitude of party preparations, to Ted Lau for “giving us the farm,” to Don Karpenko for the cruise in his ’57 Chev, and to my loving family for making it so perfect!

60 years is old – very, very old – if you’re 20, but, oh, so young if you are 90!  Back in 1947 when I was born, the life expectancy was 62.9 years.  So much for collecting those social security checks!

So many, many things have changed since the day I was born:

  • Harry Truman was the president when I was born, and there was no vice president.
  • The average cost of a brand new home was $6,650.  A shiny new car cost $1,290.  You could rent a nice apartment for $68 per month.
  • Gasoline was 15˘ a gallon and the cost of a postage stamp was 3˘.
  • You could attend Harvard University for $420 a year.
  • The first soap opera was aired on US TV in 1947, and the first tubeless tire was manufactured by BF Goodrich.
  • At the beginning of the year there were an estimated 30,000 TV sets in use.  By year’s end, the number approached 257,000.
  • Bell Laboratories developed the very first transistor.
  • In Long Island, NY, builders erected Levittown, a middle-class suburb.  By 1970, more Americans would live in the suburbs than in cities.
  • The first of the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947.

But for all the changes in the past 60 years, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!  His love for us has not changed one bit.  His goodness and mercy have followed me every day of my life.

I think it’s safe to say that there have been more changes in the world during the last sixty years than any other time in history.  Some of these changes have made life easier and living conditions better.  Some, however, have lowered the standards and cheapened our existence.

Through all the changing scenes of life, our gracious God has stayed by our side and held us close in His loving arms.  He knew of all these changes even before He created the world.  He inspired the sacred writers of His Book to record society’s downward moral spiral as the End draws near. 

Thank you, again, for remembering my birthday!  May each birthday we celebrate be a reminder of our heavenly Father’s love and mercy!  May each additional year serve to prompt us to say “Thank You, Jesus!” for all that He has done and continues to do for us, in us, and through us!

To Him be the glory!

Pastor Carl Henkel