Our Own Way

By Daphne Harrington

Currently, we have our seven-year-old grandson visiting us. Julian is delightful and thoroughly enjoyable to be around, when he is getting his way. One day this past summer, as we were on our way to the swimming pool, I stopped to indulge his request for an ice cream cone. He decided he wanted a “Big Blast.” He was all smiles as he devoured the horrid-looking blue drink with whipped cream topping.

Our next stop was the video store. When we finally found one he had not seen, I checked it out and was on my way out the door, when I noticed that Julian was not behind me. He had discovered a Nintendo game. By the time we finally left the store, he’d talked me into letting him play for about 30 minutes. Then I had to make a quick stop at a nearby department store for the pair of jeans I’d promised him.

By the time we came out of the department store–without the jeans (he had now decided he wanted a type of jeans the store did not carry)–it was 4:40 pm.

“Julian,” I said, “we are going to have to wait until tomorrow to go swimming. It is too late to swim today.”

He folded his arms abruptly across his chest, stuck out his bottom lip and began to pout and cry. “I want to swim today!” he said, pouting all the way home.

I thought how we adults are like that. Even though many of us are more indulged than most people on this planet and get most of our heart’s desires, we do the same thing in more subtle ways when things don’t go our way.

Isaiah 53:6 says, “All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way.” When you think about it, our “own way” is one of the things we cherish most in life and the thing that keeps us as our own “lord,” or boss of our own lives. Our own way is usually in direct opposition to God’s will and sometimes in opposition to the will of those closest to us. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.”

If we left Julian to his own way, he would be so spoiled that he could not get along in life and could never have working relationships. He must learn that sometimes, when he gets his way, he will not get what he really wants in the long run, which, in this case, was to go swimming on that particular day. Instead, he had frittered his time away doing things that– while not really wrong– were not what he most wanted to achieve that day. He needed the guidance of a wiser, caring mind. He needed discipline with love that would teach him and direct him to the wiser path. Had he listened to this guidance, he could have had what he most desired.

If we ask Him, God will show us the path He has for us, but He does not force us. “`For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. `For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.'” Isaiah 55:8-9.

Jesus said, “I AM the WAY, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me.” In Christ’s life, in His death, burial and resurrection on our behalf, the way of salvation and the way of life has been made available to us through faith in Him and what He has done for us. To take our own path is to perish. To take His is life eternal.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Best and Favourite Teacher

Author Unknown

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant.

It got to the point where Mrs Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X’s and then putting a big “F” at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs Thompson taught, she was required to review each child’s past records and she put Teddy’s off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy’s first grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners… he is a joy to be around…”

His second grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is an excellent student, well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.”

His third grade teacher wrote, “His mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn’t show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren’t taken.”

Teddy’s fourth grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is withdrawn and doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.”

By now, Mrs Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy’s. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper That he got from a grocery bag Mrs Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume.. But she stifled the children’s laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, “Mrs Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.” After the children left, she cried for at least an hour.

On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her “teacher’s pets.”

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling* her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he’d stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honours. He assured Mrs Thompson that she was still the best and favourite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor’s degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favourite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer…. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.

Of course, Mrs Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs Thompson’s ear, “Thank you Mrs Thompson for* believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.”

Mrs Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, “Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.”

(For you that don’t know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr. at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)

Random acts of kindness, I think they call it?

“Believe in Angels, then return the favour.”

Meditation: And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just. – Luke 14:14

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

“How I Killed My Wife Inadvertently!”

Author Unknown

Yesterday, I went to interview a preacher. He came three hours late to his church, venue of our meeting and I was a bit angry. But when he explained what kept him, not only did I forgive him quickly and learned some lessons, but I decided to share this with you so that some of us could learn.

Husbands and wives should learn how to settle their quarrels without delay. I have seen situations where couples allow simple disagreement to fester for days. Husband is silently hurting, expecting the wife to speak to him first; same for the wife, hurting and expecting the husband to play the man. The waiting game leads from one thing to the other. If you are at this level of matrimony, please read this. You might have a reason to call your spouse and together take an oath that “OUR QUARREL WOULD NOT LAST BEYOND THAT MOMENT.”

The story as told by the reverend: Husband and his wife (his church members) had a domestic disagreement one morning. The man said he was so bitter about it, claiming his wife knew she was wrong but refused to apologise. She felt it was a non-issue and the husband should overlook easily. To say “I am sorry, darling” to her husband was difficult for her. So many people are like that. So many wives take their husbands for granted too much. We are humans. Blood flows in our veins.

Three days on, malice reigned in the house. The husband said he must get that “I am sorry.” Wife cooked, husband refused to eat. Every day he came home with food from restaurant. He boycotted matrimonial bed. Husband found new friends in the children; same with wife. By the way, the children were too small to break the ice. I’ve been there before. Thank God I am wiser now.

On Sunday, last Sunday, they went to church in their different cars but sat side by side during service, pretending to be jolly good husband and wife. Fraud in the house of God! May God forgive some husbands and wives. But after service, husband went home with the children while she waited for women’s meeting. That day, Satan decided to enter the crevice they allowed in their home.

The husband was home already. When he perfunctorily checked his phone, his wife had called him thrice. He disregarded calling her back. Malice. The wife drove in some forty minutes later. He saw Usman opening the gate for her as his phone went on ringing. He checked it. It was his wife. She was in her car at the garage already. What is she calling me for? Foolish and stubborn wife! He said and ignored her calls. The call went on for a while. He ignored it as he sat with the TV.

Thirty minutes later, she did not come in. Something told him to go and check. Is she still in the car? Yes she must be there. He called Usman, Is madam in the car? Few minutes later, Usman rushed in, “Madam dey sleep inside the car o!”

That was when he woke up and rushed downstairs. Asthma! Could she be having her usual attack? Could she have forgotten her inhaler?

He quickly took the inhaler and rushed downstairs. When he got there, she was almost breathless. Usman and husband quickly carried her to the back seat and off he sped like a bat out of hell to the clinic nearby. Madam was confirmed dead! If he had picked her call early enough, probably she could have been saved.

When you leave domestic disagreement to fester for too long, it leads to greater evil. The preacher said husband is weeping mad, blaming himself: “I killed my wife!”

Only God knows how many wives, husbands, children have died such a needless death. Couples must cultivate one another. No matter how angry I am with my wife; I, in my office; she, in her shop; I call her at least three times during the day. I call even when I have no reason to call. All I would say is, “Where are you? Anything for your boyfriend?” I am not saying this to impress anybody, but because it is true.

Meditation: Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.– Ephesians 4:31

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

It Must Be Settled Tonight

Author Unknown

The burly miner blinked as he left the dark interior of the coal mine. Stopping at a faucet near the mine entrance, he washed the worst of the grime from his face and hands, then headed towards his home on the outskirts of the village. As he trudged along the dusty lane, he passed the open door of a little church. Inside, a small crowd listened intently as an energetic man gesticulated from the pulpit. Interested, the miner stepped to the door.

“Absolute surrender is what we must have,” the minister was saying. “Are you willing to surrender yourself absolutely into His hand? If not, you are not ready to meet your God.” The minister paced back and forth on the platform. “We do not know how much longer our earthly probation will last. Tonight you are living; tomorrow may be too late. Ask yourself, I beg of you, ‘Am I ready to meet the Lord?'”

The miner, touched to the quick, slipped into the back pew. I am not ready to meet God, he thought. I have lived a careless, godless life. How can I make peace with Him? The meeting ended, and the people filed out. Still the miner remained in the pew, his head in his hands.

Finally, the minister touched him on the shoulder. “Brother, are you ready to meet the Lord?”

Blindly, the miner shook his head. “I know I am not. Oh, help me find peace!”

An hour passed as the minister shared the plan of salvation; yet something held the miner back from full surrender.

“It’s getting late,” the minister finally said. “Go home, and continue to seek the Lord.”

The miner shook his head. “Stay with me a little longer; it must be settled tonight.”

Once again the minister explained the way of salvation and prayed, but in vain. Another hour passed.

“You must go home,” the minister told him. “It’s late, and I cannot make it any clearer.”

“It must be settled tonight,” the miner repeated, his eyes burning with earnestness.

“Then we shall stay here together,” the minister agreed. Once more he spoke of Jesus, and shared promise after promise. Once more he prayed, but in vain. “I must go,” the minister finally said. “It will soon be morning. Go home, and return tomorrow night. Maybe then you will find peace.”

“Sir, I cannot leave this place until I find peace.”

The poor man’s voice trembled. “Tomorrow may be too late. It must be settled tonight.”

The minister could not resist his appeal. “By the help of God.” He said, “it shall be settled tonight.”

Again he explained the steps of conversion; again he prayed. As he spoke, the miner broke into sobs and tears, and at last the light pierced his darkness.

“I see it!” he cried. “I give myself absolutely to God, to His will, to do only what He wants. It is settled.

Praise His name, it is settled!” The two men knelt again, but this time to thank God for bringing light to a sinner’s soul.

The next morning the miner went to work as usual. During the day he was sent to a distant part of the mine to fetch some tools. When he did not return, his fellow workers went to look for him. They found that the mine walls had caved in on him, and he was buried in the debris. Working with pick and shovel, they began to dig. Finally, from the fragments of rock and rubbish and stone which hid him from sight, came a faint sound:

“Tonight —- would have been —- too late. Thank God —- it was settled — last night!”

Am I ready to meet the Lord?

Meditation: Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. – Matthew 24:42

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

New Beginnings

The creator created people, gave them words for communication and thinking, settled them in the fertile valley at the foot of the mountains, gave them longevity and started to observe how they would aspire to the development.

The time has passed, but people did not develop. Their feet did not go beyond their village and did not climb up the mountains. Their eyes did not look at the sky and did not look in the Heart. So they became old.

The Creator decided to find out, what was the matter. He became a man and came to them as a traveller. Before sunset people gathered at the square to talk with the traveller. He described them a life beyond the horizon and suggested:

“Do you want me to lead you there, and you will see how people live in these places?”

“Oh,” they answered sadly, “It is late, we became old…”

“Then come with me to the mountains to look at the world from the top!”

“Oh,” they suspired, “It is too late, we have no energy…”

“Look at the sky.” “The traveller said them, “And I will tell you about the life in the Kingdom of Heaven!”

They answered again: “It is late; our mind will not understand your story…”

The traveller became sad. He decided to cheer people.

“Let‘s sing a song!” he said and was going to sing first, but people noticed that the Sun went down.

“It is late,” they said, “It is time to sleep…” and went to their huts.

The traveller shouted to them:

“People, when life is continuous and infinite, it is not late for any achievements!”

But they did not turn back. Then the Creator told himself: “I will take away all words of limitation from people: ‘late’, ‘not’, ‘impossible’, ‘far’, ‘high’, ‘hard’, ‘will not understand’, and will place in their hearts the joy of infinity. Maybe they will perceive my Law: nothing is late, because there is no end, there is only the beginning!”

He did so and waited for the morning: will people change and will they go with him to the mountains?

Meditation: Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:10

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

It Should Not Get to This

A man in Scotland calls his son in London the day before Christmas Eve and says, “I hate to ruin your day but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough.”

“Dad, what are you talking about?” the son screams.

“We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer,” the father says. “We’re sick of each other and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Leeds and tell her.”

Frantically, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. “Like h..l they’re getting divorced!” she shouts, “I’ll take care of this!”

She calls Scotland immediately, and screams at her father, “You are NOT getting divorced! Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?!” She hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone at the other end and turns to his wife. “Sorted! They’re both coming for Christmas and they’re paying their own way.”

While this anecdote may sound amusing, it also calls for sober reflection particularly in term of how we relate to our parents. Imagine how many times they must have patiently attended to our calls even for the most trivial of things. They should not be denied our attention now that we are on our own and can take care of ourselves.

Meditation: He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. – Matthew 15:3-6

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Learnings

Author unknown

This is credited to Andy Rooney, a man reputed for saying so much with so few words:

I’ve learned….That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I’ve learned…. That when you’re in love, it shows.

I’ve learned…. That just one person saying to me, ‘You’ve made my day!’ makes my day.

I’ve learned…. That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I’ve learned…. That being kind is more important than being right.

I’ve learned…. That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I’ve learned…. That I can always pray for someone when I don’t have the strength to help him in some other way.

I’ve learned…. That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I’ve learned…. That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I’ve learned…. That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I’ve learned…. That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I’ve learned…. That we should be glad God doesn’t give us everything we ask for.

I’ve learned…. That money doesn’t buy class.

I’ve learned…. That it’s those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I’ve learned…. That under everyone’s hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I’ve learned…. That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I’ve learned…. That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I’ve learned…. That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I’ve learned…. That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I’ve learned…. That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I’ve learned…. That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I’ve learned … That life is tough, but I’m tougher.

I’ve learned…. That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I’ve learned…. That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I’ve learned…. That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.

I’ve learned…. That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I’ve learned…. That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I’ve learned…. That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you’re hooked for life.

I’ve learned…. That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.

I’ve learned…. That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

Meditation: My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; – Proverbs 2:1-2

You will succeed in Jesus Name!