Wednesday, August 28, 2019

A Cup of Coffee

I left the house with a slice of apple pie on a paper plate and took the twenty steps or so to my neighbor's garage door. An August day, my armpits prickled from the heat, and the grass underfoot crackled and scratched my bare feet.

The garage was empty. He had sold his Pontiac after losing his license and shared that it was the worst thing that had happened to him after his wife died. Unable to get groceries on his own, unable to get to doctor's appointments independently, he often felt isolated and alone. I noted the few belongings left on dusty, warped shelves: partially filled paint cans, an oilcan, a clutter of tools, and a few rags. A 1975 faded calendar hung crookedly from a nail, stuck on March, the month and year his wife passed.

I knocked on the screen door. The "Price is Right" blared from the living room. I yelled out his name, "Lloyd, it's Kathy; I have apple pie for you."

The television chatter stopped; I heard a groan as he pulled himself out of his recliner. With a cane at his side, he hobbled up to me to take a closer look--his eyes clouded by cataracts.

"It's me, Kathy," I stated loudly, pushed my face towards his, and wondered when he had last taken a shower.

"Oh, yeah, please sit down." He motioned to a kitchen chair. "Have coffee with me."

I looked around. The kitchen counter was greasy, the floor needed sweeping. A cold tin pot stood on the stove top.

"Hmm, I really should get back home," I murmured.

"Have a chair," he insisted. "Won't take long." I placed the pie on the counter top and pulled out a vinyl-covered chair with wheels attached as he poured two cups of coffee. Seeing he needed help, I carried the cups back to the sticky table.

"The weather. What's it doin' outside?" he asked.

"Hot," I replied. "It's August you know, gotta expect it."

"Suppose so," he answered and took a sip.

"Need milk or sugar?" he asked.

"No. No thank you," I answered and thought about what I needed to fix for lunch at home. Starting to take a drink, I noticed white flakes floating in my cup. Realizing it was only lime chips, it still churned my stomach. I wasn't a coffee snob, but I couldn't drink this.

I pretended to sip as he rambled about missing his wife, the lack of visitors, and having no transportation.

Morning devotions had reminded me that, "We're at our best when we encourage others with our words, with our actions, with our presence." My intentions had been good. I thought the pie would do it. Lloyd had barely noted the pie; he wanted my attention.

I considered the people Jesus hung out with as I sat with my elderly neighbor. They were not the cleanest, most healthy, most with-it individuals. They were human beings, created in His image; however, each (as we are) with imperfections.

I relaxed, sat back on the squeaky vinyl chair, and looked out his kitchen window to the place his own eyes seem to take him. The leaves moved lazily on the trees--tired of summer--just like me.

"What do you see?" I asked.

"Change," he murmured . "Everything changes. Nothing stays the same...."

We sat for a while, sipping our coffee. Some times, words aren't needed.


Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
          Romans 15:2

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

An Impact Lasting An Eternity

And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Those of us who believe in the power of prayer and others who find themselves on their knees because desperation of some kind has crept inside, ask or plead for a variety of things.

I'm sick; make me better; the sooner the better.
My child has crammed all night for this test; he needs an A, or at least a B.
The car is broken down, again....
Grandma's heart is failing her; we don't know how to pray.
I've been trying to lose weight for years and doing all the right things. What's wrong with me?
I thought this marriage would work, but I can't really do it any more....

WHAT IF, after giving our Creator/Redeemer King the glory, after confessing our own sins, after giving thanks for his on-going grace and unconditional love for us... that then we express our needs?


And, WHAT IF, when doing this,
 we pray that however he chooses to answer our supplications, 
we ask that it impacts eternity....
Sound too big?
Sound too much to ask for?

Ecclesiastes 3:11 reads  He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one an fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 

With an eternal perspective, we can view life quite differently.
Immediate gratification is out the window...
It's seeing beyond what is right in front of us.

Art Katz writes, We may"believe" in eternity, but to what extent have we actually agreed with the world that eternity is not relevant until after this life? Eternity is not merely a time frame that is endless; it is profoundly and foremost a qualitative thing that is available now. When we begin to see all our moments set in the context of eternity, we will bring to those moments a seriousness [perspective] that we would not otherwise have had. 


 It's quite possible that we can bring a little bit of heaven down to earth by living in the joy of being the hands and feet of Jesus, now, right here where we are. 
Just think: You may be impacting eternity!