Reece Gardner: The hurting in this world
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Today I want to talk about the hurting in this world and the importance of how we look at it. Dr. Simmons Patrick shared an item with me a few years ago that someone had sent to him about an elderly relative of theirs who was nearing the end of his days on this earth.
Here it is: Grandpa, in his advanced age, sat feebly on the patio bench. He didn't move - just sat there with his head down, staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence, and I wondered if he was OK. Finally, not wanting to disturb him but at the same time wanting to check on him, I asked him if he was OK. He raised his head and looked at me and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking." "I didn't mean to disturb you, Grandpa, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I was concerned." He asked, "Have you ever looked at your hands, I mean REALLY looked at your hands?"
I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them, trying to figure out the point he was making. He smiled and then continued to speak: "These hands, though now wrinkled and weak, have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out to others. As a child my mother taught me how to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my first-born child. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved by someone special. They trembled and shook when I buried my wife and my child, and when I walked my daughter down the aisle.
They have at times been bent, broken, and raw. But to this day, when not much of anything else of me works real way, these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer. These hands are the mark of where I've been throughout my life. But more importantly, it will be these hands that God will reach down and hold when He welcomes me home. And with these hands he will lift me to His side, and it is there that I will use THESE HANDS to touch the face of God."
Yes, there is hurting in the world, but there can be beauty even in hurting. It depends on how we look at it. Another of the many examples of courage in the face of calamity is the story of Horatio Spafford, who lost a fortune in the Chicago fire of 1871. At about that same time his only son, age 4, died of scarlet fever. Then, in 1873, his wife and four daughters took a French liner to England. During the early hours of November 22, the ship collided with an iron sailing vessel and sank. There were 226 fatalities, including all four daughters. Mrs. Spafford survived, and cabled her husband, "Saved Alone." Heartbroken, Spafford immediately booked passage to join his wife. He went to his cabin, but found it hard to sleep. Then he said to himself, "It is well, the will of God be done."
From that experience he wrote his famous hymn based on these words: "When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows role, Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, It is well, with my soul." AMEN!
Now for some humor: At Saint Peter's Catholic Church, they have weekly Husbands' Marriage Seminars. At a recent Seminar, the Priest asked Giuseppe, who said he was approaching his 50th wedding anniversary, to share some insights on how he had managed to stay married for so long.
Giuseppe replied, "Well, I've tried to treat her nicely, spend money on her, but best of all I took her to Italy on our 25th Anniversary." The Priest responded, "Giuseppe, you are an inspiration to all the husbands here!
Please tell us what you are planning for your wife on your 50th Anniversary." Giuseppe proudly replied, "I gonna go pick her up!" HAVE A WONDROUS DAY!
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