Wednesday, September 24, 2014

a roll of tape, a prayer, and a miniature French poodle



 

 

Well my dear ones,

 

 

A short time ago,

heading out to the Post Office,

I got the distinct impression to

grab a roll of tape,

packing tape, off my desk.

 

I brought it to the car,

but once I got to the Post Office,

I was tempted to leave it outside,

since I had no need for it;

my stuff was already wrapped.

 

I felt like I should bring it in anyway,

so I did.

 

Inside was a woman trying to seal a package;

she needed some tape, so I sealed it for her.

 

Fast forward to the next day:

I go to get some gas,

but feel like I should go inside and

get a cup of coffee, too.

 

As I go to check out, the woman in front of me

is telling the clerk about her cancer.

From the context, I can tell that the clerk

does not know this woman, who is elderly,

and just needs someone to tell her story to

(as it appeared she lived alone).

 

When she was done checking out,

I chatted with her (Kathleen) for a bit.

I asked if I might pray with her

about her cancer,

and she said that made her feel better.

 

Fast forward a few more days:

I go out for a walk;

it’s lunchtime, and I go to a nearby lake.

Halfway around the lake, I run out of sidewalk.

Just as I’m about to turn around,

I get the impression that I really should

take the grassy path

the rest of the way around.

A ways before I got to my car

(and where I would not have been

 had I gone my own way),

I came upon a mother holding a baby

with 3 more daughters playing with

the family dog, a miniature French poodle

(one third the size of an average cat,

 all black, and cute as a button).

 

A girl of about 12 had the little spud

dancing around on her hind legs,

much to the amusement of her younger siblings.

 

Just as I approached them,

a truck came down the road,

and the little pup headed toward the road,

dragging her leash.

 

The Mom yelled out,

“Don’t you have her leash!”

But the young girl had dropped it

while she was busy playing.

 

I yelled out, “here, baby!”

and reached over and scooped the little spud up

before she could make it to the road.

As the happy little doggie licked my face,

the family thanked me for catching Babette.

 

And what I take from these three

seemingly unrelated events is this:

God cares even about the

(seemingly to us)

small things of life.

 

I didn’t know that woman would need some tape,

but God knew.

 

Just as God knew Kathleen needed prayer,

and prompted some guy to get a cup of coffee

that he didn’t need (or perhaps he did =>)

but she needed him to get.

 

And God knew that those little girls loved their

little Bet-bet (her knick name, as they told me)

and would be heart-broken

if anything happened to her,

hence one’s steps were guided on the right path.

 

*shrugs*

 

As the Good Book says,

 

“I will instruct you and teach you

 in the way you should go;

 I will guide you with My eye.”  (Psalm 32:8)

 

 

Some people are called upon to do big things,

like save people from a burning building,

or discover the cure for a deadly disease.

 

And some people are called upon to do

the small things,

like handing someone what they need,

praying with a sick person,

or rescuing a tiny puppy.

 

Don’t begrudge God if you haven’t yet

been called on to do what

we think of as “big.”

 

In God’s way of seeing things,

I think even what we call small things

might be huge.

 

So keep your heart open to the call;

there are people out there who need you,

and God will lead you to them.

 

Have a great week. =)

 

grace, peace, and love to you,

dave

 

 

Tuesday, September 09, 2014

teddy bears




 

Well my dear ones,

 

 

Sometimes,

it’s good to think upon frivolous things.

 

I was driving around and heard on the radio

that today is National Teddy Bear Day!

 

Actually, I don’t even have a teddy bear.

 

However, I still do puppet shows for kids;

I’ve moved from 3-year-olds down to the

2-year-olds (a much easier crowd *lol*);

and my puppet, Louie the Lion,

does have a teddy bear.

 


 

 

The 2-year-olds think it’s really cool

that Louie has a teddy bear.

It helps them identify with him,

since (as they’ve told Louie)

most of them still have teddy bears.

 

And it’s good that they can identify with him

since he teaches them the most basic things:

God made me.

God loves me.

Jesus wants to by my friend forever.

 

Hopefully, when they grow older,

and the hard times come,

they will remember that

God loves each one of us

more than we can ever possibly believe.

 

That has carried me through some tough times,

and I hope it does the same for you.

 

Happy Teddy Bear Day!

 

 

Have a great week. =)

 

grace, peace, and love to you,

dave

Puppet Louie the Lion with his teddy bear