Grandpa asked, “Well, boys and girls, what do you think of the story so far?”
Sally asked while licking her lips, “Did you bring some of the candy from the store, Grandpa? My mouth is ready.”

Grandpa responded, “Oh, no. I knew I forgot to bring something.”

All of the kids started moaning and groaning. One of the boys sitting in the back slapped his forehead.

Grandpa questioned, “Why did you all think that I had some of the candy with me, today? Did you think that I was the boy in the story?”

After a lot of blank stares, Grandpa asked, “Boys and girls, why do you think I told you this story on the last day of the year?”

After a short silence, Lisa said, “I’m sure you’re going to tell us.”

Larry said, “Make it quick, Grandpa.”

Mike complained, “I hope this isn’t boring.”

Grandpa said, “Some adults start to think about what they might be doing in the coming year. They make New Year’s resolutions, which are things that a person is expecting to change in their life for the better.”

Janet asked, “I don’t need to do that, because I can’t think of anything to make my life better.”

Grandpa responded, “You might think of something.”

Grandpa continued, “Sometimes people use resolutions as things to try to correct the past. They want to go into a time tunnel. But of course, they know they can’t go back and change the past, so they try to do things differently in their future.”

Peter said, “A time tunnel would be really cool. If I got a bad grade on a test, I could go back and figure out what I needed to study more.”

Larry said, “I think the teacher would figure out that you were doing that, and then you would get in a lot of trouble.”

Grandpa said, “On the outside, Albert seemed like he was doing OK. Do you think that Albert was wishing that he had a time tunnel to go back before the accident?”

Mary responded, “We still don’t know what the accident was. Will we find out later in the story, Grandpa?”

Grandpa responded, “I don’t want to ruin the story for you.“

Lisa said, “I think if I could change something from my past, I wouldn’t be so mean to my brother, Larry.”

Frank said, “I guess I would change my sense of humor. A lot of people don’t like my jokes.“

Larry said, “So, all those things you say about me are just jokes? I guess I should change my attitude about you.“

Charlie said, “Larry, don’t be so quick to do that.“

Grandpa said, “Remember, we’re trying to think of things that we would change about our own lives. Not about other people.“

Frieda said, “Grandpa, I can think of things I’d like to change about my life. When I get home today, I’m gonna write them down and get serious about it. I want to try to be a more friendly and caring person.”

Grandpa said, ”Frieda, that’s something we should all try to do better.“

Grandpa addressed the whole group, “God has a plan for each of our lives. There will be times that we’re not sure why something happened, or what’s going to happen next. God doesn’t want bad things to happen to us, but He will work all things for our good, if we trust Him.”

Larry asked, ”When will good things start to happen to Albert?”

Grandpa said, “Sorry, kids. Looks like I’ve run out of time. I’ll find another time when I can finish the story.“

All the kids said, “Thanks, Grandpa.”