An Untitled Story

After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening. In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service.

With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak. "A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific Coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high that, even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright, and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized."

The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in the story. The aged minister continued with his story. "Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the life line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian, and he also knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of the waves. As the father yelled out, 'I love you, son!', he threw out the life line to the son's friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered."

By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth. "The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus, and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend. How great is the love of God that He could do the same for us. Our heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son that we could be saved. I urge you to accept His offer to rescue you and take hold of the life line."

With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room. The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal. Within minutes after the service, the two teenagers were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story," politely said one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian."

"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn Bible. Sorrow began to overtake the old man's smiling face as he once again looked up at the boys and said, "It sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I'm here today to tell you that I understand more than most the pain God must have felt to give up His only Son. For you see, I'm the man who lost his son to the ocean that day, and my son's friend that I chose to save is your pastor."


- AUTHOR UNKNOWN -

The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.”  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

Mark 9:26-27

Don't Worry



Years ago, I was enthralled as I listened to a pastor who for several years had faithfully served the church. His executive responsibilities had taken him all over this country. As he concluded his message, he told of one of the most frightening, yet thought-provoking, experiences of his life.
He had been on a long flight from one place to another. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: Fasten your seat belts. Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."

As he looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice of the announcer said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us."

Then the storm broke. The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightening lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.

The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.

Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat; she was reading a book and every thing within her small world was calm and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity,when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid." The minister could hardly believe his eyes.

It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark,our pastor lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.

The child replied, "'Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home."

There are many kinds of storms that buffet us:
• Physical,
• Mental,
• Financial,
• Domestic, and...
Many other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into apparently uncontrollable movement. We have all known such times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be at rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being tossed about a darkened sky.

Let us remember... Our Father is the Pilot. He is in control and taking us home... so Don't Worry.

Author Unknown

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
John 14:1

Storms



A dear friend lost her home in the storms here in Nebraska over the weekend.  True to God's word, so many people have reached out to help and comfort...


There will be storms, child
There will be storms
And with each tempest
You will seem to stand alone
Against cruel winds

But with time, the rage and fury
Shall subside
And when the sky clears
You will find yourself
Clinging to someone
You would have never known
But for storms.

Margie DeMerell

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9

There's a Storm Coming In



Creator:  Mr. Bill

As I sit here at my desk I look out at the world passing by my window.  There are cars that pass on their way to or from home.  It is closing time for most businesses so many of these people are probably on their way to something important on this Friday evening.  The trees are still as they always are when a storm approaches.  Once in a while I notice the branches of my lilac bushes move just ever so slightly, but mostly everything is calm.  The clouds moving overhead hold many shades of white, gray, and blue but they are clouds full of moisture and seem to get heavier with each passing minute.  There are no birds singing or cicadas chirping.  There are no squirrels running here and there.  Only the people are moving.

Isn't that interesting?  All of nature seems to know that something is about to happen and has taken cover, but the human beings, in their cars and trucks and on their motorcycles don't stop.  I wonder if that is because they believe themselves to be superior to nature or they just don't care about what might come. 

I think that we human beings could take some lessons from nature.  I've been known to ignore my fair share of storms, but sometimes the storms of life require you to stop and pay attention.  I did this the other evening as a storm was approaching.  I sat on my porch and watched it build until it was raining and blowing so hard that I couldn't see outside any longer.  Only then, did I decide to step inside my house into real safety.  But watching the might of nature is awe-inspiring.  To see just how quickly it can change from sunshine to torrential rain and wind is something to behold!  It should not be taken lightly, nor should you panic with each storm.

Just like life, the storms come and they go.  We learn to 'ride them out' in whatever way works best for us.  I have a friend that goes to the basement any time the weather begins to look bad.  She also is terribly aggrieved by human 'storms.'  It brings her to tears to observe people fussing and fighting, even if she doesn't know the people involved.  Another friend doesn't seem to notice the storms.  He sleeps through them all.  It is the same way with people 'storms.'  He just seems to rise above all the fray and won't allow himself to be sucked in to the rampage.

It's always interesting to sit at my window and think about all of this.  My son would tell me that I could be doing so many other, better things.  Tonight, on this Friday evening, I'm enjoying watching the clouds, the storms, and the monarch butterfly that just passed by my window. 

“I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship.”

Louisa May Alcott



Lightning



Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.

Mark Twain 

As I write this I am sitting at my desk watching a pretty incredible lightning storm.  I know, I'm taking my chances with my computer and I should be smart and not only turn it off, but unplug it as well, but I love to watch the lightning and I wanted to share the storm with you. 

Don't you love thunderstorms?  It's been such a warm and muggy day.  We all knew that the storms would come; we hoped the storms would come, and remove all the humidity from the air.  Actually, with the flooding of the Missouri River right here, all around us, we don't need any more water, but if you've never lived in the Midwest, you can't know the feeling of the air when it becomes so heavy with moisture that you hope and pray it will rain.  Then, if only for a little while, the air becomes lighter again and it's not quite so difficult to move and to breathe. 

You can see it building, watching the clouds grow taller and thicker.  As the storm gets closer you can see them change from puffy white clouds to gray clouds and then to thick dark clouds.  When they turn an ugly green color, it's time to start watching closely.  I prefer to watch the storms in the daytime, not night, simply because I like to watch all this happen.  After dark, all that you are able to see is the lightning.



When my son was little, it was the thunder that scared him.  He always felt better when I reminded him that thunder was just two clouds bumping into each other and then yelling about it.  Once we talked about it, he could just relax and wait for the storm to pass.  He never realized that it was the lightning that could hurt.  We've been fortunate, we've never had a lightning strike too close to us.  Well, we had one hit the light pole outside our house when he was about eleven years old, but we've never had any damage from lightning. 

Like so many things, while it can be dangerous and must be respected, lightning is beautiful.  The power harnessed in a lightning strike can kill instantly.  Lightning is extremely hot—a flash can heat the air around it to temperatures five times hotter than the sun’s surface. About 2,000 people are killed worldwide by lightning each year. Hundreds more survive strikes but suffer from a variety of lasting symptoms, including memory loss, dizziness, weakness, numbness, and other life-altering ailments.

Powerful!  Frightening!  Exhilarating!  Deadly!

Lightning is a release of energy.  It can reach from cloud to cloud, from cloud to ground, or from ground to cloud.  It is impossible to know where lightning will strike.  It reminds me of people and human relationships. 



When you put two people together you never know what will happen;  sometimes really beautiful things happen, sometimes really ugly things happen, but all reactions are powerful leaving everything around them changed forever.  

As I sit here and watch the rainwater run down the street and sidewalk in front of my house, I hear the hail hitting the roof, the flag pole and the sidewalk.  I know that this storm is marking my house and my yard.  Just like those people that pass through my life, it will leave things just a little different than they were a few minutes ago.  It might be better...my yard will not grow dry; it might be worse...it could shatter a tree, like the one down the block that was split in the last storm, but it will be different. 

Isn't that one of life's greatest lessons?  To face the storms or the people, no matter what challenges they bring and move forward, learning lessons in the process.  And enjoy the beauty as it unfolds.