My grandfather grew up near Chatham, Ohio, in the days before every family owned a car. Once a week or so, the family would hitch up a buggy and ride to town for food and supplies. He often told the story about what happened on one of those trips to town. It was winter and the ground was covered with snow. The whole family piled into the sleigh.

As usual, they followed the river for about a mile and crossed at the bridge. The river was frozen over, so on the way home they took the short route over the ice. This was a serious mistake. As they crossed the water, the ice caved in. My great-grandmother was thrown from the sleigh. She was holding baby Orville who fell from her arms into the fast-running water.

My grandpa was about ten at the time. His brother Elmer was twelve. They were able to make their way to safety on the bank. Their parents stayed in the ice-clotted river, trying desperately to save baby Orville. He was in the water along with all the contents of the sleigh.

What happened next would live in grandpa’s memory for the rest of his life. His little brother Orville was rescued alive from the water. He went on to marry, raise a family, earn an honest living, and lived to an old age. I hear his wife, Audrey, had a mean groundhog recipe too, but that is another story.

The part of the story my grandpa loved to tell was what happened there on the bank of the river while baby Orville was bobbing in the icy water. His older brother Elmer’s concern was that the new groceries were thrown into the water and were being carried downstream. Elmer, seeing the gravity of the situation, began to call out instructions from the bank. Grandpa still remembered his brother’s exact words, sixty years later. He was shouting, “Save the Post Toasties! Hey, somebody, save the Post Toasties!”

Orville’s icy plunge happened more than seventy-five years ago. Elmer died before I was born, and this little incident is about all I know of him. I am sure he lived to regret his misplaced priorities. Buggies and sleighs have been replaced by  automobiles, and hundreds of other brands of cereal have now captured the enthusiasm of children, but scrambled values are still a common problem. It would be funny if it were not so tragic. Since Elmer was only a boy at the time, we can forgive him for being more concerned about a box of cereal than a baby. But when we mature, our values should mature with us. We should no longer value things over people, profit over principle, and time over eternity. We should not waste our time worrying about things that do not matter or working overtime for things we will sell at next year’s garage sale.

Wise, mature men seek the Kingdom of God first and His righteousness. They value the Kingdom. They keep first things first. That way, they live with happy memories and no regrets.

Written by Pastor Ken Pierpont