Leaf

On a recent walk, I found a bright red leaf. For some people this wouldn’t be a big deal, but in the south there aren’t a lot of extreme fall colors on trees.

So I picked it up and took it home to enjoy!

The next day, though, it started turning brown. I was disappointed. Just a day earlier it had been so bright!

Then I remembered that, until it fell, the leaf had been attached to a branch that was getting nourishment from the trunk of a tree. Once separated from the source of its nourishment, it began to die.

This brought to mind John 15, which includes this verse:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me, and I abide in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.”

There it was in front of me. A withered leaf that had separated from its life source.

And here I was, knowing that this happens to me all too often.

Do you ever find yourself cruising along and suddenly realize you aren’t well-connected to your spiritual source? Communication with Him has waivered from not reading the scriptures consistently or not praying/meditating on Him.

Or maybe not even acknowledging Him at all.

Thank God for His grace to forgive us and help us get reconnected to Him!

Every time.

TO HELP OR NOT TO HELP

“Do you need an ambulance?”

I had been walking my dog in a church parking lot when I saw a man lying near a tree, in dirt. I wondered if he was alive even. He didn’t move at all.

I thought about telling someone at the church, as there were people around, several yards away. But then I thought, why can’t I just go check on him?

So I did.

As I got closer, I said, “Sir? Are you o.k.?” He woke up and squinted at me. I repeated my question. He replied that he wasn’t all right. That’s when I asked if he wanted me to call an ambulance.

“Oh. No. I don’t need that. But I could use a cold drink!” He smiled.

My suspicions were confirmed when I saw his glassy eyes and heard him slurring words as he talked. When he moved, I saw a liquor bottle sitting on the ground beside him. He was drunk.

I knew there was no use talking further, as he probably didn’t even know where he was, nor would he remember the conversation. So I told him I hoped he felt better and went on my way, feeling badly that he was at that point in his life. (I did give him a soft drink. He was polite and said thank you.)

The fact was that I couldn’t solve his problems. He had arrived at that point through a series of poor decisions. In my work as a social worker, I’ve learned that usually people like this know the resources in the community, including the shelters where they can sleep. Often, they don’t want that kind of help.

So what do we do/how do we respond as Christians? Have you ever encountered this type of situation?

Practically speaking, I did what I could. I checked to see if he needed medical help. I gave him a drink.

He chose to stay there, in the dirt, and went back to sleep.

The Bible addresses people who choose this kind of life. I’ve met lots of them who do not want to work. Or they are too sick with substance abuse issues and cannot work in that state of body and mind. But they often don’t want to do the work that would help them make changes in their lives.

The Bible addresses this.

“There is profit in hard work, but mere talk leads to poverty.” (Proverbs 14:23)

“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands . . .” (Ephesians 4:28)

And when we have the ability to help someone, not in an “enabling” way, the Bible says this —

“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.” (Proverbs 19:17)

How do you handle these situations?

Leave a comment!

IDOLS (Part 2)

Several years ago at Bible Study Fellowship, we studied about idols. A children’s program coincides with the adult study.

The week after we all studied idols, one of the women in my group told us about her four-year old granddaughter’s expression of idols following the lesson. After attending BSF, they had been home for a little while when she noticed her granddaughter walking around the house with a flashlight. When she asked the little girl what she was doing, she had said, “I’m looking for idols.”

Of course, we thought that was funny.

But we also thought she was on to something!

We see lots of examples of idols in the Old Testament. When the Israelites moved from place to place, they often took their man-made idols with them.

But did idols end in the Old Testament?

Unfortunately not.

To make God our main focus in life is often a challenge. But it’s not impossible. In fact, the verse in Luke 1:37 says, “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

I remember reading about Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth, and how she focused on God as a mother of five whose husband was often gone. She put her open Bible on the kitchen countertop, and then she frequently looked at it as she passed by.

Of course, we aren’t all home during the day. I’ve mentioned note cards in the past — verses written on index cards and posted where we will see it often. By our computer, in a prominent place in our car, etc.

What a great way to get our minds back on Him — and away from any idols –as we go through our day!

WHAT IS AN IDOL? (PART I)

Periodically I go to a nail salon in our local mall. After I had been there a couple of times, I noticed a little “scene” in the front window. A large Buddha is sitting there. I noticed some items in front of him on the floor but couldn’t figure out what they were.

Then one day I was there when they first opened, and one of the managers was coming from the back of the salon, carefully balancing a bowl of water in one hand and some kind of food in the other. I asked the woman doing my nails what he was carrying. She kind of shrugged and said he does that every day.

So that is how I picture an idol. An inanimate object that people of some religions revere and even worship (and that can do nothing for them!).

It reminds me of the story in the Bible when Moses was up on the mountain recording the Ten Commandments as God gave them to him. When he returned to the Israelites at the bottom of the mountain, he found them worshiping a heap of jewelry they had melted.

Ridiculous, huh?

What do you worship? Is there anything that interferes with your worship of God?

I’ve heard that if we want to know what we worship or idolize, we can look in our checkbooks. What do we spend money on? Do you have any “idols” you give a lot of time/money to?

It’s something we all struggle with to varying degrees. But God wants us to worship Him alone. The Bible tells us this many times, but here are a couple of the verses.

Exodus 20:3 — “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Matthew 4:10 — Then Jesus said to him, ” . . . For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'”

By the way, yesterday I walked by the salon and there was a bowl of fresh mangoes in front of the Buddha. Hmmm . . .

NEEDy

When I looked up and saw a chicken walk through the living room, I knew this was going to be a different kind of visit.

It wasn’t a pet chicken. There were several wandering around their yard. No one made an effort to get it out of the house. I guess they knew the chicken would come back in!

The only doors in the house were flimsy at best. In fact, inside the house the only doors were curtains that had been put up for a little bit of privacy.

The elderly woman who was my patient was the grandmother of the two children who lived there. A young boy was there, as well as a teenage girl around the age of fourteen.

It seemed like the woman was nice enough to the kids, but I was sure that just about every kind of abuse/neglect had happened to them. They went to school and seemed to have enough food (not that any cooking took place), so I knew other people were in their lives.

In situations like this, it’s sometimes hard to know exactly what to do. I can report them to the state’s child protective services, which I am obligated to do if I suspect current neglect or abuse. Getting families food is relatively easy due to church and community food pantries. And clothes can be provided, if needed.

But the one thing I couldn’t give to these kids and their grandmother was reassurance that tomorrow would be any better. They were stuck in the cycle of poverty, and all I could do was help them with necessities.

Matthew 26:11 quotes Jesus by saying, “The poor you will always have with you.” I know it’s true, but when you see it firsthand, it’s a difficult pill to swallow.

Through the years I’ve realize that what makes a difference is how I help the people God puts in my life. I can’t “save the world,” but I can ensure a family has food for the week and clothes to wear.

One day I was in a McDonald’s, standing in line for my standard Diet Coke. I noticed the man in front of me was dirty, had a worn-out backpack on his shoulder, and just looked down and out. At that moment I felt God whisper to me.

“When he asks for a cup of water, buy him lunch.”

Before I knew it, he was at the counter and asked for a cup of water.

He was so appreciative of getting a hot sandwich and cold drink. I can honestly say the food was from God.

The Bible encourages us to “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only.” (James 1:22) I know that God sometimes puts us in the lives of people to help them. What a privilege it is! I know there are times I’ve failed to be helpful., and that’s very sad to me.

I want to keep my eyes open and be available when he puts someone in my path.

The apostle Paul tells us in Acts 20:35 that “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”

PLANS

When I was visiting my parents in Louisiana in March of this year, my mom planned her funeral. She had started filling out a book about her plans a few years ago, but this time she was serious about the details. She thoroughly enjoyed the process of choosing hymns, pallbearers, musicians, etc. It was a good day, and she was feeling well.

At the time of her planning, we didn’t know that a month later, on April 5, 2023, she would pass away.

While she was thinking and talking about her service, she suddenly looked at me and said, “I want you to speak at my funeral.” I was very surprised and told her I didn’t know if I could. She didn’t relent.

“O.K., I’ll stand up and recite my favorite poem you wrote,” I said. Mom was known for her poetry, and she knew my favorite one. She agreed that would be fine.

“A frog and a spider went out one day

to write a story and then to play.

But the frog wanted food more than a friend,

so he ate the spider and wrote, “The End!”

Her poetry was a gift she shared with many people throughout her life. She was often asked to write a poem for a special occasion for someone, which she gladly did. As I looked through her writings after she passed, I was amazed at how many poems she wrote for people.

Being a pastor’s wife, a church secretary, and working at the Louisiana Baptist Convention for many years, she had plenty of opportunities to get material for her poems! I don’t know who she wrote this one about, but a friend remembers being in a meeting with Mom when she wrote this one:

“Behold, the speaker standeth, Behold, the speaker speaketh.

He said he draweth from ‘the Well,’ I think his bucket leaketh!”

Mom’s faith was the most important thing to her, and she often wrote about it. Thirty-six years ago at Easter, she wrote this:

“Let us dwell not on Jesus’ pain, Nor call attention to His foes.

Let us be glad and rejoice today! Jesus, our Savior, arose!”

At the end of speaking at her service, I told the congregation I was going to take the advice she gave in this poem:

“If you’re asked to speak a word, and your ideas begin to click,

Just remember they said, ‘a word.’ Speak up and sit down quick!”

We miss you, Mom. But knowing we will meet again makes all the difference.

TRUMPET!

A couple of years ago, during the early morning while my husband and I were still asleep, I heard the trumpet of the Lord! It was a majestic, royal trumpet blast, just like I had always imagined it would be. I got up and looked through the blinds, expecting and hoping to see Jesus coming through the clouds to get us!

There was nothing out there but darkness.

It was then that I realized my husband had changed his “text alert” to a royal trumpet sound. Uggghhhh.

I was so disappointed! I wanted it to be Jesus!

We’ve laughed about it since then, especially when I tell someone who hasn’t heard the story.

But even though that was a false alarm, I know that one day it will be real!

Have you heard the old song with these lyrics?

“When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more, and the morning breaks eternal, bright, and fair;

When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, and the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there!”

I love that song! It shows us the hope and promise we have in Jesus Christ.

So even though my hopes were dashed on that early morning when I thought I heard Jesus coming, I have realized he has given me more time to serve him here on earth.

Because when the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there!

THE WHITE HOUSE BOYS

There is a book with the above title that’s about an “orphanage” in north Florida that existed in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The “claim to fame” of this place is very dark. Abuse to the point of death was committed on many of the hundreds of boys who lived there during this time period.

A few years ago, I met one of those “boys” who was in his 90’s. I knew he was one because he wore a cap that said, “The White House Boys.”

Prior to meeting him, I had heard vague stories of the institution, The Florida Industrial School for Boys, and how horrible it was. But meeting someone who had witnessed it was eye-opening.

The place was closed after graves of many young boys were discovered on the property. They were kids that had been “forgotten” by society and put away, forced to endure the hardships that were a result of being a resident there.

But this man proudly wore the cap like a badge of honor. He was eager to talk about it, even showing me a book written about this “orphanage” and the atrocities that happened there.

Knowing so many boys had been abused and died there, I asked him, “How did you survive?”

He smiled and chuckled when he said, “I didn’t call attention to myself.” After seeing what led to the others being taken away and often not seeing them again, he took note and stayed “under the radar.”

I never found out whether this man had a Christian faith. But meeting him reminded me of healing that can take place in people’s lives, no matter what they have experienced.

So many people in this fallen world have experienced abuse on some level, regardless of their faith or lack of it.

But God can heal anything — physically, mentally, emotionally.

Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

And Psalm 34:17-20 tells us that “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

He has provided ways for healing through counselors, pastors, and others. There are support groups of various specialties that can help victims know they are not alone — and heal.

Just remember that the Bible promises us that God is The Healer.

“Father, touch me now with your healing hands, for I believe that your will is for me to be well in mind, body, soul and spirit. Cover me with the most precious blood of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.”

A NEW STORY

Many years ago I was reminding a preschool Sunday School class about the Christmas story, which I assumed they all knew.

“And there were shepherds in the fields, watching their flocks by night . . . Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared, and they were sore afraid!”

A little four-year old girl, who was new to the church, was listening intently. As I glanced around the table, I noticed the look on her face. One of curiosity and bewilderment.

“Have you ever heard the story of Jesus being born in Bethlehem?” I asked.

She shook her head to say “no.”

I was so surprised! I don’t know that I had ever encountered a young child who didn’t know the Christmas story.

Having lived my life in mostly Christian environments, I thought almost everyone had heard about Jesus’ birth. Even people I had encountered through the years who weren’t Christians knew the story.

So I started at the beginning.

Having the privilege of telling this innocent child the story of Jesus for the first time was very moving. It made me look at the story that I had heard my whole life, since my birth, in a new way. It was fresh to her. And she seemed amazed.

Every year at Christmas, I think about the little girl and wonder who hasn’t heard this story.

The angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)

Who do you know that doesn’t know the true meaning of the Christmas story?

JESUS’ BIRTH

“Did you know that Jesus was born before He was born?”

This question was posed to me by a seven year old boy in Sunday School recently. It’s a tenet of the Christian faith, and I was shocked to hear it from a child!

In case you weren’t aware of this, the evidence is in Genesis 1:26.

“Then God said, “Let US make mankind in OUR image, in OUR likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky . . .”

And in John 1:1 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

“Word” refers to Jesus throughout the scriptures. Jesus has always been with God.

This concept can get “deep,” but the truth for us to know is that the seven year old boy was correct.

“Before Jesus was born, He was born!”