Religion: A Pastor Ponders

Reaching for the Ring

by Pastor William Jenkins

February 17, 2006

William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United States, was born on February 9th, 1773. His father Benjamin Harrison was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. One of his grandsons, also Benjamin, was the 23rd U.S. President. William Harrison is the undisputed holder of the record for the shortest time in office of any U.S. President.

He was inaugurated on March 4, 1841, contracted pneumonia and died exactly one month later on April 4. Such an unfortunate demise is tempered by the active life President Harrison lived. Instead of allowing death to cheat him, he cheated death by not allowing it to swallow his ambitions. He was one to reach for the brass ring.

The grave has swallowed many an ambition and many sparkling dreams simply because people failed to go after them. All the things they wanted to do, intended to do, wished to do, they never did.

A woman once shared with me that she really wanted to go back to school and get a degree, I encouraged her to go for it, but she said she was too old to do it. I asked her how old she would be if she didn’t do it. She would be the same age with or without the degree. Why not be that age with it?

Ecclesiastes 12 contains a challenge for us to cheat death by being fully engaged in life and committed to God. Verses 1,6,7 can be translated
“Remember your Creator in the day of your opportunity…
before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

Do you have a longing to do something splendid? Release the splendor! Get that degree! Start that hobby! Write that book! Learn that instrument! Take that trip! Sing that song! Cheat death! Do not let death cheat you by claiming the sparkle of your dream. You were created to go for the brass ring.

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org