"And A Meadow Lark Sang" Monday
Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>
And a meadow lark sang.
The child did not hear.
And the thunder rolled across the sky
But the child did not listen.
'God let me see you' and a star shone brightly
But the child did not notice.
'God show me a miracle!'
And a life was born but the child did not know.
'Touch me God, and let me know you are here!'
Whereupon God reached down
And touched the child.
And walked away unknowingly."
"Two Warring Women"
There were once two elderly women who suddenly, and without warning, seemed to have become the bitterest of enemies. There was no evident reason for the conflict -- at least none that anyone could discover right off. But there was definitely something wrong. They both yelled and screamed at each other constantly. They had even stopped going to church.
For years these two women had lived side by side in the same neighborhood in peace. Both had moved into their respective houses as young brides. They became the best of friends. They raised their children together and then comforted each other when each of their husbands died. That was in the past, though. Now, every day there seemed to be a new clash. More arguing. More shouting.
They kept neighborhood in an uproar. One woman would loudly complain that her neighbor's trash cans were overflowing. The other complained just as loudly that her neighbor's tomcat was using her nasturtium bed as a litter box. On and on it went, day after day.
Now the neighbors were starting to get fed up. Even on peaceful summer evenings, when they were trying to relax on their front porches, the loud voices of the bickering women made shrill the still night air. Finally one of the neighbors, the minister of their church, decided he would try to make peace between the two warring women.
The neighbors were all for the minister taking on the role of peacemaker. "I wish you would have done this earlier," one lady told him. "Bessie and Maude are driving us crazy. You go on over there and tell them two biddies to shut up or we're gonna call the cops."
As the preacher knocked on the first woman's door, he prayed to God to give him the words to say that would make one or the other stop their arguing. The turmoil they were causing in the neighborhood was one thing but, as their pastor, he knew that the spiritual damage they were causing each other was much worse.
Finally the door opened and the first lady peered out. "Howdy, Preacher," she said brightly. "What are you doing here? I bet its about me not going to church, ain't it?"
"I want to talk to you, Maude," he answered. "Can I come in?"
The old woman looked shocked. "Not ME, Preacher," she gasped. "I'm not living in sin. I know I haven't been to church...."
The Preacher smiled benevolently. "No, Maude' He said in a louder voice. "I didn't say you were living in sin. I just asked if I could come in. I want to talk to you about Bessie."
"Who?" she said, cupping her ear so she could hear better.
"Bessie, your neighbor," the preacher replied. "She used to be your best friend."
The old woman smiled. "Oh, Bessie. She's right here."
A very confused preacher walked through the door. What was Bessie doing in Maude's house? He and Maude walked into the living room.
Bessie sat on the couch, a steaming cup of coffee on the table beside her. She looked in the pink of health and was smiling broadly. A Rook deck was spread out on a card table in front of her. The two women had evidently been in the midst of a game when the preacher knocked on the door. Bessie looked up at the astonished cleric.
"Howdy, Preacher," Bessie said. "Want a cup of coffee?"
"Now just one doggone minute!" the Preacher cried. "I thought you two were enemies. You argue with each other so loudly that you disturb the entire neighborhood. Now here you are playing cards and drinking coffee."
"I don't have any toffee, Preacher," Maude said. "But Bessie might. Do you want her to run over to her house and check?"
"COFFEE!" shouted the frustrated minister.
"Oh, coffee. Let me go to the kitchen and get you a cup."
The preacher put his hand lightly on Maude's shoulders. She stopped, turned, and looked at him quizzically. He studied her old lined face for a moment. Then he said in a firm, loud voice. "Are you two hard of hearing?"
"Oh, my, yes," Maude answered. "Both of us. We should be wearing hearing aids, I know. But we have such a small pension that we haven't been able to afford to get new ones. And you know how the government is -- all that paperwork? It was really funny how both of them buzzers busted within a day of each other."
"So you're not enemies after all? And all your yelling is just so that you can hear each other?"
"Of course," Maude answered. "Bessie and I have been best friends for years. Most of the time, we don't have to talk. We know each other so well that we don't have to. But when we have to tell each other something, we have to yell. That's why we haven't come to church recently. We can't hear your fine preaching."
The preacher shook his head. Maude looked quizzical again. "What is it that you wanted to talk to us about, Preacher?
"Never mind," the minister said as he turned and headed for the door. "You've just answered my question."
It didn't take long for the preacher to collect enough money from the neighbors for two brand new hearing aids -- that is, once the reason for all the shouting between the women became known. Maude and Bessie, although a bit embarrassed to accept charity, were touched by the unexpected generosity of their neighbors.
Of course, the people in the neighborhood were a little embarrassed themselves because they had wrongly judged the two elderly women. But the new hearing aids turned out to be an excellent investment. The neighborhood was quiet once again.
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