Bridgman, MI—There are seven wonders of the world. Seven deadly sins. Seven colors in the rainbow. Seven swans a swimming. Seven dwarves. Seven seas. Seven continents. Seven notes on a musical scale.
The number 7 is often associated with good luck and three number sevens on a slot machine make a jackpot.
Then there is the whole series of stories about James Bond, based on 007.
I was born in the seventh month. I'm now in my seventh decade.
In my life, recollection of events started at age seven. That was the year when my parents moved to Holly, Michigan and was also the year I started first grade. I remember nothing of my sixth year. However, I remember with fondness my seventh year, which for me was fantastic!
My first-grade teacher was Mrs. Glidden. After the Pledge of Allegiance, we would listen to a wonderful waltz or soothing piece of classical music. I began to quickly embrace reading, writing, and arithmetic. Great friendships started with Chuckie and Jerry. At recess, we would see how high we could go on the playground swing sets.
While I was seven, I first learned of the significance of the number seven in the Bible.
My parents taught me about the story of creation in the Bible. I still remember the pictures of the creation story in volume 1 of "The Bible Story" by Arthur Maxwell. During the first six days of creation, God created the earth and firmament, and then filled it with trees, mountains, seas, animals, and then Adam and Eve.
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God rested on the seventh day, and therein created a remembrance and celebration of all that had been done. To this day the seven-day weekly cycle has been maintained and the remembrance of the seventh day Biblical Sabbath as God intended, still exists.
Our family always observed the Seventh Day Sabbath and celebrated it according to the Biblical scriptures.
In addition to creation, the number seven is mentioned over 700 times in the Bible and in many instances, the number has special significance, such as with seven seals, seven churches, and seven trumpets.
In the Old Testament story of Jericho, the Israelites marched around the city of Jericho seven times before God helped them capture the city.
Now in 2023, I am pleased to help celebrate the seventh anniversary of the Pacific Island Times.
In an age when news publications (especially print editions) are falling like flies, the Pacific Island Times not only had a successful launch but has flourished for seven years, expanding on a vibrant print edition to a popular digital and online service of the publication.
Although the paper is published and circulated monthly in Guam and Palau, the followers of the popular publication and its diverse set of topics and writers can be found in other islands of Micronesia, throughout the U.S. mainland, and other countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, South Korea and Japan.
The success of any organization is directly tied to exceptional leadership.
The publisher/founder the Pacific Island Times, Mar-Vic Cagurangan, has a distinguished journalistic background.
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My first interaction with the Pacific Island Times was of course in the year 2017. After my disturbing experience on Guam of being slandered and booted out of my lifelong career in 2016, a friend of mine suggested I tell my story to one of Guam's most trusted journalists, Mar-Vic Cagurangan.
At first, I was too afraid to speak publicly about my story.
After our initial contact, I began to feel more comfortable in entrusting the story of what happened to me to her experienced and principled writing skills. This was the best decision I ever made and in the spring of 2018 the story of my traumatic experience was published.
At the time I was an Uber driver and after some unusual rides, I wrote the experiences up and sent them to Mar-Vic. She encouraged me to write more and soon I was writing a column for her paper.
Because of her encouragement, I published a book of my writings called "When A Mustard Seed Moved A Mountain."
In the past seven years, I've gone from CEO to Uber driver to columnist/author, and I consider myself one lucky person!
Theodore Lewis is the former CEO of Guam Memorial Hospital and has a healthcare consulting business in Bridgman, MI. He is collecting stories about lessons learned in life and can be reached at theodorelewis@yahoo.com.
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