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You Never Know
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A few years ago in downtown Denver, my friend, Scott, and I saw
something tiny and insignificant that changed the world, but no
one else even seemed to notice.
It was one of those beautiful Denver days. Crystal clear, no
humidity, not a cloud in the sky. We decided to walk the ten
blocks to an outdoor restaurant rather than take the shuttle bus
that runs up and down the Sixteenth Street Mall. The restaurant,
in the shape of a baseball diamond, was called The Blake Street
Baseball Club. The tables were set appropriately on the grass
infield. Many Colorful pennants and flags hung limply overhead.
As we sat outside, the sun continued to beat down on us and it
became increasingly hot. There wasn't a hint of a breeze, and
heat radiated up from the tabletop. Nothing moved, except the
waiters, of course. And they didn't move very fast either.
After lunch, Scott and I started to walk back up the mall. We
both noticed a mother and her young daughter walking out of a
card shop toward the street. She was holding her daughter by
the hand while reading a greeting card. It was immediately
apparent to us that she was so engrossed in the card that she
did not notice a shuttle bus moving toward her at a good clip.
She and her daughter were one step away from disaster when Scott
started to yell.
He hadn't even gotten a word out when a breeze blew the card out
of her hand and over her shoulder. She spun around and grabbed
at the card, nearly knocking her daughter over. By the time she
picked up the card from the ground and turned back around to
cross the street, the shuttle bus had whizzed by her. She never
even knew what almost happened.
To this day, two things continue to perplex me about this event:
Where did that one spurt of wind come from to blow the card out
of that young mother's hand? There had not been a whisper of
wind at lunch or during our long walk back up the mall.
Secondly, if Scott had been able to get his words out, the young
mother might have looked up at us as they continued to walk into
the bus.
It was the wind that made her turn back to the card in the one
direction that saved her life and that of her daughter. The
passing bus did not create the wind. On the contrary, the wind
came from the opposite direction. I have no doubt it was a
breath from God protecting them both.
But the awesomeness of this miracle is that she never knew. As
we continued back to work, I wondered how God often acts in our
lives without our being aware. The difference between life and
death can very well be a little thing.
~Author Unknown~
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More Faith
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God has more faith in you than you do in yourself.
You know what's ON you.
He knows what's IN you.
You know the weight you carry.
He knows your strength.
You know your pain.
He knows where your healing is.
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD.
"They are plans for good and not for disaster,
to give you a future and a hope." (Jer 29:11 NLT)
~A MountainWings Original~
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The Splinter
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Once there was a man who thought to cross America on foot.
He bought a map of the USA and carefully plotted out his course.
He would take the back roads and walk from morning till night,
viewing the beautiful land all around him as he went, stopping
at wayside inns and spending the night, rising the next morning
to begin his journey again.
On the morning of the beginning of his journey, he walked
outside on his porch and viewed the beautiful sunrise.
As he headed back into his house, his foot caught on a loose
board and a splinter wedged in the ball of his right foot.
The man sat down and lifted his foot and yelled at the splinter,
“Out! Get out of my foot! Out, I say!”
Rising, he went inside and finished preparing for his journey.
Heavy socks and thick walking shoes were to be his protection
against the hard earth. T-shirt and shorts would be his main
clothing. A backpack with a change of clothes and trail mix, a
map and plans for the trip, identification and a first aid kit
along with various other items completed his gear. A full belly
and plenty of sunscreen and he was off on his journey.
The man had not gone very far from home when he started to limp.
The splinter seemed to grow larger and larger. But the man was
determined and continued on his way.
That night he stopped at a little Bed and Breakfast Inn and got
a room for the night. After eating supper at a local diner, he
prepared for the morning before going to sleep. Finishing his
shower, the man sat on the side of his bed, lifted his right
foot and yelled at the splinter, “Out! Get out of my foot!
Out, I say!” And then he went to bed.
The following morning, the man rose up and started dressing for
the day. He lifted his foot and yelled at the splinter, “Out!
Get out of my foot! Out, I say!” Then he renewed his journey.
The sun rose with a spectacular view as the world shimmered
awake, but the man limped by with his eyes on his right foot,
glancing up only now and then, missing a lot of the views.
The roadside bloomed in wonderful shades of blues, greens, reds,
yellows, purples, oranges and burgundies. Rabbits hopped and
deer cropped in the fields all around. The birds sang and flew
all around the man, but he was unaware. The splinter was bigger
now, of that he was sure, as big as a two by four or maybe
more.
The sunset came that evening in glorious hues of purples, reds,
oranges and blues, but the man did not notice. He focused on the
painful throbbing of his right foot.
His mornings and nights started rolling together as the splinter
grew and grew and grew, and his limp got bigger and bigger and
bigger. His views got smaller and smaller as he focused more and
more on his right foot.
Each morning and each night, the man would lift his foot and yell
at the splinter, “Out! Get out of my foot! Out, I say!”
Halfway across America he went, inch by painful inch. Finally he
could stand it no longer, caught a bus and went home.
Calling his best friend along the way to tell him he was coming
home, the man settled into the swaying of the bus. Every so
often, he would take off his right shoe, remove his right sock
and yell at the splinter, “Out! Get out of my foot! Out, I say!”
Home at last, the man limped down his driveway to find his best
friend waiting for him on his doorstep. All excited, his friend
asked him about what he had seen, where he had gone and what he
had done.
The man had nothing to tell him but the splinter that was lodged
in his right foot. It hurt so much that he didn’t feel like
looking at the view. It hurt so much that he didn’t feel like
walking, much less going anywhere special. It hurt so much that
he didn’t feel like doing anything exciting. It hurt so much
that he came home with his journey incomplete.
Then his friend asked the man,
“Why didn’t you remove the splinter?”
So many times in life, we let splinters get in our way.
Instead of removing them and enjoying the rest of our journey,
we simply yell at them thinking they will respond to our
complaining and fussing. Then we cut the trip short.
What splinters do you carry?
~Author Unknown~
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Caring
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If you think no one cares if you are alive,
try missing a couple of car payments.