"Life is lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road and we stand on the mountain looking back through the valley that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale.” Jill Savage

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Saturday - Something to think about . . . .

The Pastor's Son (I thought this was very cute - a little long, but cute - hope you like it)

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and his eleven year old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts.

This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside, as well as pouring rain.

The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, 'OK, dad, I'm ready.'

His Pastor dad asked, 'Ready for what?'
'Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and go out.'
Dad responds, 'Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring rain.'

The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, 'But Dad, aren't people still going to Hell, even though it's raining?'

Dad answers, 'Son, I am not going out in this weather.'

Despondently, the boy asks, 'Dad, can I go? Please?'

His father hesitated for a moment then said, 'Son, you can go. Here are the tracts, be careful son.'

'Thanks Dad!' And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract .

After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted.

Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered.

He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but still no answer.

Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him.

Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch!

He rang again and this time the door slowly opened. Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly asked, 'What can I do for you, son?'

With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, 'Ma'am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that *JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU* and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.'

With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave.

She called to him as he departed. 'Thank you, son! And God Bless You!'

Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked, 'Does anybody have a testimony or want to say anything?'

Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet. As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, 'No one in this church knows me. I've never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live. So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and broken-hearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me.

I thought, 'I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.' I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly.

I thought to myself again, 'Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.' I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you!

The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, 'Ma'am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU .' Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand. As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them any more.

You see, I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU to God's little angel who came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell.'

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated. He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor for his son.... Except for One.

Wasn't that sweet?

“The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.”
—Max Lerner

Love, Chatty

20 comments:

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Very sweet story.

Changes in the wind said...

Never know the why's of life but this is sure a good one.

Jane said...

That was a beautiful story.It brought a tear to my eyes.Thanks Sandie for sharing.God sure does work in mysterious ways. Blessings jane

Kim said...

That is a great story. We just never know what is around the corner.

Anonymous said...

WOW that certainly made me misty...BEAUTIFUL!

I also LOVE the quote at the end.

YOU ROCK Sandie!

LADY JANE said...

Too sweet...and talking about SWEET...I POSTED...yep...yahooo! OMG...I really need to get back into the swing here...lots has changed in blogland!

Melanie said...

What a sweet story, Sandie.
It's a wonderful encouragement to keep the faith and keep telling people about Jesus.
Hope you're having a wonderful weekend. :)

Susan said...

ooooooo, that was a powerful story, Sandie. Do you know if it really happened? Anyway, its message came across loud and clear. Thanks for sharing! I know you will have a great Saturday! Susan

Angela said...

That was indeed sweet! I do hope that it was a true story too!

Have a Wonderful Weekend!
Angela

jp@A Green Ridge said...

That was beautiful, Kiddo! Thanks for sharing it...:)JP

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Wonderful story! Thanks for sharing this Sandie! hugs, Linda

Buttercup said...

We never know how much the good we do in the world can mean to someone. Thanks, Sandie, and hope you're having a good day.

The Boston Lady said...

What a great story. We never know how a simple act that we perform may affect someone's life forever. Ann

Phoebe said...

What a nice story! Thanks for posting this for everyone to see! It's so sweet! God bless you! :) have a wonderful weekend!!! :) ~Phoebe~ :)

Terra said...

This story gave me goosebumps; very sweet.

betty said...

that was very sweet! we never know how our actions will impact others; good thing to remember!!

So glad you are enjoying your time! I can imagine it is a delight!

betty

Ginny Hartzler said...

A real good story! I wonder if it's true?

Barb Hodges said...

This story is really a challenge for all of us. One never knows the power of a smile, a hello, holding the door for someone, etc. This literally made the difference between life and death.

Sr Crystal Mary Lindsey said...

This really made me cry!!
Oh Sandie, How God Loves YOU and I..and we go along doing our own thing..That Pastor had lost his child like faith...his son needed to remind him of that. We all need to be reaching out to those around us. There are so many lonely and hurting souls...
I LOVE YOU MY SIS xxxx

Cindy Caudle said...

Thank you for the beautiful story. Makes you wonder who's soul you touch during the day.