Quote from Forum Archives on June 19, 2003, 11:43 am

Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

*** A Keeper ***

 

I grew up in the fifties with practical parents -- a mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in
it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it...

 

A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.

 

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in
trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, dishtowel in the other.

 

It was the time for fixing things -- a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress.
Things we keep.

 

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.

 

All that re-fixing, reheating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful.

 

Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

 

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the
pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any 'more.'

 

Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return.

 

So...while we have it...it's best we love it.....and care for it.....and fix it when it's broken.....and heal it when
it's sick.

 

This is true.....for marriage.....and old cars.....and children with bad report cards.....and dogs with bad hips.....and
aging parents.....and grandparents.

 

We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.

 

Some things we keep.

 

Like a best friend that moved away -- or -- a classmate we grew up with.

 

There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special.....and so, we keep them close!

 

I received this from someone who thinks I am a 'keeper' so I've sent it to the people I think of in the same way. Now
it's your turn to send this to those people that  are"keepers" in your life.

 

+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+

 

*** Move Mountains ***

 

A small congregation in the foothills of the Great Smokies built
a new sanctuary on a piece of land willed to them by a church
member. Ten days before the church was scheduled to open, the
local building inspector informed the pastor that the parking lot
was inadequate for the size of the building. Until the church
doubled the size of the parking lot, they would not be able to
use the new sanctuary.

 

Unfortunately, the church with its undersized parking lot had
used up every inch of the their land except for the mountain
against which it had been built. In order to build more parking
spaces, they have to move the mountain out of the backyard.
Undaunted, the pastor announced the next Sunday morning that he
would meet that evening with all members who had "mountain
moving faith." They would hold a prayer session asking God to
remove the mountain from the backyard and to somehow provide
enough money to have it paved and painted before the scheduled
opening dedication service the following week.

 

At the appointed time, 24 of 300 members assembled for prayer.
They prayed for nearly three hours. At ten o'clock the pastor
said the final "Amen." "We'll open next Sunday as scheduled," he
assured everyone. "God has never let us down before, and I
believe He will be faithful this time too."

 

The next morning as he was working in his study there came a
loud knock at his door. When he called "come in," a rough
looking construction foreman appeared removing his hard hat as
he entered. "Excuse me, Reverend. I am from Acme Construction
Company over in the next county. We're building a huge new
shopping mall over there and we need some fill dirt. Would you
be willing to sell us a chunk of that mountain behind the
church? We'll pay you for the dirt, remove, and pave all the
exposed area free of charge, if we can have it right away. We
can't do anything else until we get the dirt in and allow it
to settle properly."

 

The little church was dedicated the next Sunday as originally
planned and there were far more members with "mountain moving
faith" on the opening Sunday than there had been the previous
week! Would you have shown up for that prayer meeting?

 

Some people say faith comes from miracles. But others know :

 

M I R A C L E S

 

C O M E

 

F R O M

 

F A I T H

 

+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+:*:+

 

Have a Blessed Day

Dave and Barbara

 

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