daily java

Daily Java:  

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

We have had a lot of things happen to us in our lives and we were talking about it tonight. But when it comes down to it, our lives are a tapestry, woven together with good thread and bad, good experiences and bad, good times and bad.

There have been a lot of bad things happen to us. But on the other hand, there have been a lot of good things too. Sometimes they were concurrent in our lives, happening at the same time. And sometimes those people we were with didn't know that they were hurting or helping us.

For instance, in Boonville, we were stone broke. We were poverty stricken. We had no money to do anything. It eased a little when my own pathetic little retirement started coming in, but in general, we had nothing.

For a week or so a month, we had a little money. We would buy gas and groceries and maybe go somewhere, but it was short-lived. It went away quickly and we had to figure out how to husband the rest of our money for the rest of the month.

As a result, we went nowhere really., just siting around the house. No one really knew this because we didn't talk about it, so to many, we just looked normal.

But, on the other hand, and there is always an other hand, we made some good friends there. And we always had food to entertain. We always had food to have people over and to help others if they needed it.

We were literally so broke that it was ridiculous, but we always had food to have people over. God blessed us with an overflowing freezer full of meat.

And we did that a lot, we entertained a lot. We were the hospitality ministry at Firm Foundation Foursquare Church in Boonville, MO. We were about the only people in that church of 200 that ever did any degree of hospitality.

But we did it gladly.

And the same for the rest of our lives. For whatever reason, people did things to hurt us (in the name of God, which made it even sadder), and some to help us. Good churches and bad, good circumstances and bad.

Sometimes what seemed to be the firm will of God turned out to be a stupid idea. But God was always there, even though we suffered. And we did. I am not sure why, but we suffered greatly at times.

And we always tried to show the love of God in our lives and in the lives of our families.

The food giveaway we did in one place. Our son came in and I hugged him and kissed him on the neck like I always do. It amazed the people there to get food because so many of them were from dysfunctional families. That I could have such a relationship with my son.

The compassion I tried to show even to people who were hurting me. The counseling, the loving, the giving – even though many of these people didn't care.

We gave anyway. And we did it because the tapestry was being woven, at least in part, by us too, not just God.

There were times when toughness had to be shown, and there were times when tenderness were needed far more. I did not always get it right, maybe even not enough of the times, but we tried.

And the seasons continue, the tapestry continued to be woven.

I see here in Longton the possibility of something good, something that might even last me to the end of my life. I am old enough now that the length – to the end of my life – is totally feasible.

These people need love and they need the example of a good family and a loving husband and father. They will find out that I am not perfect, in fact far from it. But they will find that I care for them and love them.

No one in the Bible was perfect, even the great men of old. Each had his feet of clay, his Persian flaw, that caused him to encounter difficulty. Only a fool thinks himself to be perfect and above the fray.

But the key is to keep on weaving the tapestry, keep on living the life, keep on loving and sharing and showing hospitality.

And in so doing, you show the love of Christ in your life.