Did you ever notice how much drama is in the world today?
I remember as a kid my mom watching the soap opera “As The World Turns” every afternoon. That was drama, only in slow motion. Today’s drama is fast and furious and getting crazier by the minute. The worst part is we seem to have an endless appetite for drama — and its everywhere!
You no longer have to wait for your favorite TV show to come on — just breeze through Facebook, YouTube, Instagram or whatever the latest social-media craze is nowadays, and you can have your fill. And don’t forget the 24-hour news channels like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC; the political fodder alone has more drama than a “Honey Boo Boo Meets Dennis Rodman” special edition of “Dancing with the Stars.”
News is not really news anymore; it’s a smorgasbord of tabloid events all rolled into 30 minutes. Anyone watch The Weather Channel lately? There’s big drama in weather these days. But that’s not really all that new.
Remember the Chiffon Margarine commercial from the early 1970s?  When Mother Nature, played by Dena Dietrich, is informed that her sweet, creamy butter was actually margarine, she raised her arms and exclaimed, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!” Then a bolt of lightning would flash with a roar of thunder. She used to scare the bejeebers out of me. I don’t think I ever ate margarine after that.
When it comes to drama, the bigger the better. Some drama always equals more drama. Pretty soon, you can’t get enough. It’s almost like an addiction. It’s so easy to get drawn in and hooked.
So when and where does it stop? My guess is it doesn’t until we finally keel over from too much.
As a parent of one teenager and one young adult, I know it is a constant battle. Not necessarily with my children, but more with society in general. Nowadays, I feel like I have to fly with the radar constantly monitoring every move, moment and message that occurs within the reach of my family. Then, I realize how impossible that really is.
I’m sure that my parents — and probably my grandparents and continuing on down the line — had the same worries, or at least the same foundation of concerns for their children. I wish I had a dime for every time I heard my grandmother say, “Oy gevalt, what is this world coming to?”  
My dad used to say, “The world isn’t changing, people are!” I’m not sure I ever understood that statement … but maybe what he was trying to say is that people are ever changing the world. Like it or not, we do live in a world much different from whence I was a boy.
The famous college-basketball coach John Wooden wrote, “The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” I like that and it makes sense. Jennifer and I always have thought that raising our children with love and joy, teaching them to be patient, faithful and forgiving, and helping them to develop self-control was the best that we could do. It would then be up to them to make good choices.
David Jeremiah also has a great quote at the end of his online devotions: “Delivering the unchanging word of God to an ever-changing world.” Even Mother Nature can’t argue with that.

DeLong is the executive director of The Suites at Station Exchange. Call him at 912-531-7867 or email him at Suites.StationExchange@gmail.com.