The End of the World... Or Not

Hello all!

So as you may or may not know, the world was supposed to end yesterday. And as you hopefully know by now, it didn't.

According to California preacher, religious broadcaster, and part-time prophet Harold Camping, May 21st was to mark the second coming of Christ and therefore Judgment Day for all of us here on Earth. He determined this based on a series of calculations incorporating the date of Jesus's crucifixion, the number of days in a year, and various other numbers of apparent significance. I don't mean to mock someone's convictions, because I'm sure the man had good intentions, but I do want to make a quick point here: Harold Camping represents neither the Bible's preachings nor the Christian mindset. He represents Harold Camping. And perhaps crazy people. Poor Mr. Camping has now become a national joke (again) - even my pastor poked fun at him this morning. When Judgment Day finally comes, I hope Harold is alive to witness it, and I hope it takes him completely by surprise.

As for me, I spent what could have been my last hour on earth cashing out female customers desperate for a little lift and support right before the heavens came crashing down. When I asked one customer in particular if she wanted to take 30 seconds to sign up for our store charge (my best line...), she said, "The world is about to end; I don't have 30 seconds!!" I couldn't argue with that - I hadn't planned on spending my last moments at a mall, either.

What's funny, though, is that we did have a few "false alarms" here in MN. For example:

• We were issued a tornado warning in the Twin Cities area at around 6 pm - right when the rapture was scheduled to begin. Yikes!
• There were SO MANY Canadians shopping in my store that night. Their accents are cute, but it just wasn't right.
• We got a crazy amount of storms this entire weekend, and right at around midnight last night - just when we thought we were safe from the apocalypse - we got slammed with a hail storm that cluttered my porch with what looked like snow balls.

It just goes to show you that you never know what's going to happen next... And it should stay that way.

When you look back on yesterday years from now, will you remember where you were and what you were doing when the world didn't end? I probably won't. But to help keep your memories fresh, here are some funny and insightful articles on Judgment Day 2011:

"Judgment Day May 21: When Will the World Actually End?" (Christian Science Monitor)
"Apocalypse Not" (Christian Science Monitor)
"Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse" (CDC)

Here's to another day!

<3 Mrs. G

Disclaimer: This is in no way meant to make light of Christ's second coming but rather of a man's very public and misguided attempt to predict the unpredictable. See Matthew 24:36-44. :)