Like many folks, I’ve been a little fascinated by the recent prediction of the end of days. Although I don’t subscribe to the belief that you can calculate the day and time of what some call the Rapture and others call Judgment Day, I can’t say I exactly approve of some of the things that are being done. Rapture parties and sales of services for those “Left Behind” seem a little too in-your-face to be addressed to the Great Power That Is. I think maybe some people have forgotten who they’re dealing with.

Suppose for instance God is watching. (That’s what we’ve been taught, right? He sees everything?) So, Harold Camping thinks he’s calculated the exact day and time of the return of Christ. He’s studied the Bible closely, he’s prayed and he’s thought hard about what God is trying to tell us. So far, I don’t see anything there that God might do more than shake his head and smile over. On the other hand, there are all those non-believers who are offering to take care of pets for those lifted by the rapture or to transfer electronic files to relatives and friends of those taken tomorrow. Of course, such services should be paid for ahead of time. Well, really, that might almost be enough for God to decide maybe May 21 isn’t such a bad date for the end of the world, after all. But maybe May 22 would be even better. You know, to catch us off guard and avoid those last-minute Rapture hangers-on.

So instead of attending a rapture party, I’ve made my plans. Like any other Saturday evening, I plan to be with the people I love the most and with the ones I can’t be with held close in my heart. And hope I’m ready for whatever happens then or any other day.