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Themes Satisfaction in Christ Success came easy On December 24, 1905, in Houston, Texas, the Hughes family celebrated an early Christmas. They welcomed baby Howard into the world. Howard looked liked any normal newborn baby. However, since his father owned his own company and was very rich, his life would be anything but normal. His parents could afford whatever he wanted. They wanted Howard to grow up with no needs and few wants. When Howard was 17 years old his father died and he had to take over the company. Hughes Tool Company did well under Howard, but the job was not as exciting as he thought it would be. Howard was rich but not very happy. Four years later, he packed his bags and moved to Hollywood to become a movie producer. Hollywood soon became home to Howard. His movies were very successful and made him a lot more money. Howard found himself with a lot of free time in between movies. So he took up an expensive hobby: flying airplanes. He became a very good pilot and quickly set several air speed records. In July 1938, he set the record for flying around the world in 91 hours and 14 minutes. The thrill soon passed and he began searching again. He thought it would be neat to have something no one else had. So he designed and built an eight-engine 750 passenger flying boat, called the Spruce Goose. This novelty wore off too, and Howard was soon looking for his next adventure. He decided to try running a major motion picture corporation for a few years. However, the movie business just was not as exciting as the airplane business. So he started his own Hughes Aircraft Company. The company did very well, but Howard did not. There must be something out there that could make him happy. He finally moved to Las Vegas and bought up land and hotels. Poor Howard. Success came easy, but satisfaction did not. With all his money he could not buy a satisfying life. In his lifelong search, he became a very strange and scared man. In 1950, Howard went into hiding. He had many fears including people, disease, and death. He moved often from one place to another to keep away from people. He spent a lot of extra money at hotels to ensure his safety. Despite a very successful career, Howard became more famous for his bizarre behavior. He eventually went insane from a poor diet and too many drugs. He died in an airplane crash on April 5, 1976. Like so many people today, Howard was looking for the good life in all the wrong places. Howard had a deep need that money could not buy. He had a hunger that could not be satisfied with all the toys and joys of earth. He needed what only the Lord Jesus could give him. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6:35).
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Peter Orasuk
