I woke up early, but stayed in bed awhile thinking about how I was a survivor of the tribulation period that came on the whole earth. I thought about how I was the only one of my immediate family and friends who survived those horrible 31⁄2 years. Why God chose me to survive, I still don't know, because I never had any interest in religion. But I am thankful that He did.

My wife was now awake, and we got out of bed together before dawn as we usually do. While I fed our horses and chickens, my wife made breakfast for us and our two young children.

While doing my chores I was again struck by how different my life is now. I remembered back to the time before the tribulation. Then one of the first things I would do each morning was grab the morning newspaper to read with my coffee. The news was almost all bad—about crime, wars, diseases, natural disasters, tremendous accidents and unstable financial markets. Then I'd hurry to my car to make my daily commute to work in rush-hour traffic. Our lives were hectic.

Now we live peaceful, unhurried lives. Not at all like it was before—a bizarre race to an undefined future. No more commuting in rush-hour traffic to a job where no matter how much you accomplished, it was never enough, in order to make money to buy things we didn't really need.

Life is much simpler now. We work for ourselves on the land given to us by the family of God. We raise our own food and always have more than we need. We always have good weather. No more freezing winters. No more scorching summers, and we are given rain for our crops just when we need it.

Our houses are pleasant and comfortable. We don't have locks on the doors because there is no crime and no one lives in fear. Everything we use is biodegradable. We don't have all the electronic entertainment equipment we used to have, because it just kept people isolated and apart. Many of the old desires don't even come to mind anymore since Satan has been restrained.
It's time to go in the house. Before we eat my wife's delicious breakfast, we pray together as a family. I start the prayer, thanking God for His tremendous blessings, for accomplishing His plan so far and for being true to His Word. Then my wife adds to the prayer, and then each of our children. I look at our children and am so thankful they were born in the Kingdom when God has restored and refreshed all things (Acts 3:19). We have no illness anymore, and if we should suffer an accident, we can be instantly healed.

I help my wife clear the table as the children get ready for school. Farming isn't as hard as it was before the tribulation period, so today I'm going to continue work on building a house for relatives.

I take some materials to the house. When I get there, my tools are right where I left them. No one steals because Satan has been restrained; and if someone should give more than a thought to it, "Your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left" (Isaiah 30:20-21).

After several good hours of productive work, I take a break. A guest drops by while I'm having lunch. A mountain lion has come snooping around to see what's going on. I give him a little of my lunch and some of the water I drew from the well. I pet his head and he rolls over onto his back. I rub his belly and he purrs like a huge house cat.

After lunch he goes on his way and I go back to work. I can only work for about three more hours and then I have to start back home. You see, today is the preparation day before God's Sabbath.

I arrive home well before sundown and take care of some chores and start to get cleaned up. The children are home from school and my wife almost has the Sabbath dinner ready. It's a meal we look forward to all week.

As the sun sets and the Sabbath begins, once again I begin the family prayer. As we enjoy our Sabbath dinner, we talk about our day and about how blessed we are. We talk with anticipation about going to church and seeing all our friends and neighbors. The children are learning to play musical instruments and are excited to be offering special music with the children's orchestra at church.

It's all very different now. Everyone stops working on the Sabbath, and everyone goes to the same Church. Church is the center of everything. It is where we go to worship God together and learn more about His ways. It is also the place of our local government, administered by the family of God. It is where our children go to school, and where we have meetings and social functions. It is the center of our community.

On Sabbath morning we get up a bit later. Sabbath services begin around 10. After services we have a feast together. Each family brings food and drink, what you used to call a potluck. After the meal and much good conversation with our beloved friends and neighbors, we meet again for announcements and then break into groups for Bible studies.

After the Bible studies, there is more socializing and before you know it, the sun is ready to set and the Sabbath is nearly over. It was a joyous, most holy day. Peace has truly come to the earth.

If I had known before the tribulation period what God had in store for mankind, how blessed, how peaceful and how fulfilling our lives would be, how beautiful the earth would be, how wonderful all mankind can be with God's help—I would have read the Bible and tried to have a personal relationship with God.

I am off to bed now, and so I will leave you with this: Do all you can to be in the wonderful Kingdom of God! UN