LIVING IN THE PLANET OF THE APES By Larry Davies

As humor columnist Dave Berry would say, "I am not making this up." My mother-in-law sent me an article from her hometown newspaper titled, "'It sounds crazy': Monkeys pelt cars with fruit."

"Three monkeys pelted cars on Interstate 95 with bananas and crab apples before running across the highway and fleeing into the woods…

A woman flagged down a state trooper and told him a monkey had thrown a banana at her car. `I started laughing,' said the trooper but he drove back to the scene of the attack and found a van and a station wagon pulled off the highway. `I know this sounds crazy,' one driver said, `but a monkey threw an apple at our car.' At that moment a crab apple came out of nearby trees and hit the van. `Lo and behold there were three brown monkeys in an oak tree throwing crab apples,' the trooper continued. The primates jumped out of the trees and ran across the highway."

"A 6-year-old boy in the van had watched the movie `Planet of the Apes' before leaving home a half-hour earlier. As the monkeys ran across the highway, the trooper heard the boy say: `Look, Mama, we're living in the planet of the apes.'" (Edited from Associated Press Story)

Maybe we are living in the planet of the apes. Life can be strange and full of surprises at times. You're cruising the highway minding your own business when suddenly… SPLAT! A monkey throws a crab apple, smashing your windshield, squashing your routine, your day and possibly your life.

* There is a phone call from the doctor who wants to see you immediately!
* A letter from the Internal Revenue Service that can be condensed to one word: audit.
* An interoffice memo announcing that your company plans to downsize.
* Your child brings home a note from school: "Please come to the principal's office right away!"
* There is message on the answering machine from your spouse: "We have to talk…"

Squash! Abruptly, your peaceful journey is shattered. All resources must now be focused on this latest crisis. Do you resume your trip and pretend nothing happened? Do you immediately stop to investigate? Do you quietly wait and hope the crisis will go away? Should you call for help? Instead of being in control, you become a helpless target worrying over what the monkeys might throw next.

Is this why we must continually strengthen our relationship with God? Jesus once told a story about two builders. The foolish one built a house on a foundation of sand. The inevitable storms arrived, the rain came down, the winds blew and beat against the house and it collapsed. The wise builder used a foundation of rock. "The rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall." (Mat. 7:25) Both builders faced the same storms but only one house survived. The secret to survival has little to do with the storm but instead lies within the foundation.

When storm winds blow and fruit starts flying it's wise to remember that God is our foundation!

* Reverence for the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom… (Psalm 111:10)
* But God's truth stands firm like a foundation stone… (2 Timothy 2:19)
* After you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support and strengthen you and he will place you on a firm foundation… (1 Peter 5:10)
* But you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit… (Jude 1:20)

Do you see the point? Reverence for the Lord is the foundation… God's truth stands firm… After you have suffered he will place you on a firm foundation… Continue to build your lives on the foundation… No empty promises to remove crises, rather a commitment to restore, support and strengthen.

Are storms clouds approaching? Feeling the sting of a monkey's crab apple attack? Has your journey been sidetracked by crisis? Maybe this is a good time to build on the foundation of your holy faith. How is your relationship with God? Does it need a little strengthening? When is the last time you attended a Bible study? Prayed with someone? Talked with your pastor? It's never too late, you know.

And another thing… watch out for flying fruit.

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