Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving (09)

I'm thankful for Friends! (Clay Balls) I'm Learning to be thankful for Thorns! (God did it with Nails)
I'm thankful for Marriage! especially for the special women God put in my life! (God's letter to A Women)

Clay Balls

A man was exploring caves by the seashore.. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.

They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw

the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.

He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!

Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him.

He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of

thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!

It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.

We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.

I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with each of you. Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel.


THORNS

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes when she pulled open the

florist shop door, against a November gust of wind. Her life had been as

sweet as a spring breeze and then, in the fourth month of her second

pregnancy, a "minor" automobile accident stole her joy . This was

Thanksgiving week and the time she should have delivered their infant

son. She grieved over their loss.

Troubles had multiplied.

Her husband's company "threatened" to transfer his job to a new

location. Her sister had called to say that she could not come for her

long awaited holiday visit. What's worse, Sandra 's friend suggested

that Sandra 's grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow

her to empathize with others who suffer. "She has no idea what I'm

feeling," thought Sandra with a shudder "Thanksgiving? Thankful for

what?" she wondered.. "For a careless driver whose truck was hardly

scratched when he rear-ended me? For an airbag that saved my life, but

took my child's?"

"Good afternoon, can I help you?"

Sandra was startled by the approach of the shop clerk. "I . . . I need

an arrangement," stammered Sandra .

"For Thanksgiving? I'm convinced that flowers tell stories, " she

continued.. "Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this

Thanksgiving?"

"Not exactly !" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything

that could go wrong has gone wrong."

Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, "I

have the perfect arrangement for you."

Then the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new

customer....

"Hi, Barbara, let me get your order." She excused herself and walked

back to a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an

arrangement of greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed

thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped:

there were no flowers.

"Do you want these in a box?" asked the clerk. Sandra watched - was this

a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for

laughter, but neither woman laughed..

"Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think

after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by it's

significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said,

as she gently tapped her chest.

Sandra stammered, "Ah, that lady just left with . . . uh . . . she left

with no flowers!"

"That's right," said the clerk. "I cut off the flowers. That's the

'Special'. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet. Barbara came into

the shop three years ago, feeling much as you do today," explained the

clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had

just lost her father; the family business was failing; her son had

gotten into drugs; and she was facing major surgery. That same year I

had lost my husband," continued the clerk. "For the first time in my

life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband,

no family nearby, and too much debt to allow any travel."

"So what did you do?" asked Sandra .

"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've

always thanked God for the good things in my life and I never questioned

Him why those good things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I

cried out, 'Why? Why me?!' It took time for me to learn that the dark

times are important to our faith ! I have always enjoyed the 'flowers'

of my life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God's

comfort! You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're

afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others."

Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about what her friend had

tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost

a baby and I'm angry with God."

Just then someone else walked in the shop.

"Hey, Phil !" the clerk greeted the balding, rotund man.

"My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement . . twelve

thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a

tissue wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind

telling me why she wants a bouquet that looks like that?"

"Four years ago, my wife and I nearly divorced," Phil replied. "After

forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and

guidance, we trudged through problem after problem, the Lord rescued our

marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems

to remind her of what she had learned from "thorny" times. That was good

enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to

label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanks for what that

problem taught us."

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra , "I highly recommend the

Special !"

"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life" Sandra

said to the clerk. "It's all too ..... fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that

the thorns make the roses more precious. We treasure God's providential

care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember that it was a

crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love....Don't

resent the thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra 's cheeks. For the first time since the

accident, she loosened her grip on her resentment. "I'll take those

twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a

minute."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?"

"Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart...The

first year's arrangement is always on me."

The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra . "I'll attach this card to

your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first."

It read: "My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked

You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach

me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show

me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me

that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more

brilliant."

Praise Him for the roses; thank Him for the thorns.

God Bless you. Be thankful for all that the Lord does for you.

"Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the

rest to God."


God’s Letter to A Women

When I created the heavens and the earth, I spoke them into being.

When I created man, I found him and breathed life into his nostrils.

But you, woman, I fashioned after I breathed the breath of life into man because your nostrils are too delicate. I allowed a deep sleep to come over him so I could patiently and perfectly fashion you.

Man was put to sleep so that he could not interfere with the creativity.

From one bone, I fashioned you. I chose the bone that protects man's life.

I chose the rib, which protects his heart and lungs and supports him, as you are meant to do. Around this one bone, I shaped you...

I modeled you. I created you perfectly and beautifully. Your characteristics are as the rib, strong yet delicate and fragile.

You provide protection for the most delicate organ in man, his heart. His heart is the center of his being; his lungs hold the breath of life. The ribcage will allow itself to be broken before it will allow damage to the heart.

Support man as the rib cage supports the body.

You were not taken from his feet, to be under him, nor were you taken from his head, to be above him. You were taken from his side, to stand beside him and be held close to his side.

You are my perfect angel.. You are my beautiful little girl.

You have grown to be a splendid woman of excellence, and my eyes fill when I see the virtues in your heart.

Your eyes... don't change them.

Your lips, how lovely when they part in prayer.

Your nose, so perfect in form. Your hands so gentle to touch.

I've caressed your face in your deepest sleep.

I've held your heart close to mine.

Of all that lives and breathes, you are most like me.

Adam walks with me in the cool of the day, yet he was lonely. He could not see me or touch me. He could only feel me.

So everything I wanted Adam to share and experience with me, I fashioned in you; my holiness, my strength, my purity, my love, my protection and support.

You are special because you are an extension of me.

Man represents my image, woman my emotions.

Together, you represent the totality of God.

So man... treat woman well.

Love her, respect her, for she is fragile. In hurting her, you hurt me. What you do to her, you do to me. In crushing her, you only damage your own heart, the heart of your Father, and the heart of her Father.

Woman, support man.

In humility, show him the power of emotion I have given you. In gentle quietness, show your strength. In love, show him that you are the rib that protects his inner self.

Send this to the wonderful women you know and bless their day!

Send this to the men you know too. It's a good reminder for them!




Tuesday, January 13, 2009

No little people, no little jobs, no little places

To graduate from college, a student must take somewhere between 140 to 160 units of study. I teach probably the most unimportant of the required general education requirements, which is four units or classes of PE. When you are paying $25,000 plus a year or $1000 a unit, students question the importance of this requirement. Many students put the PE requirement off until their last few semesters, so many times I face the attitudes of just getting it out of the way and always expecting an A grade. I usually try to ignore these attitudes, and teach with PURPOSE, PASSION and COMMITMENT, even though it's just PE. class. A while ago I received a short note from one of my former students that I would like to share.

From: Bryan A Tarter
Subject: Just wanted you to Know
TO: Matt Orr

Coach Orr,
I don’t know if you remember me, but while I was at Biola I took a weight lifting/conditioning class with you. I graduated from Biola in December of ‘06 and I am currently a caregiver for a man named Nick Vujicic (lifewithoutlimbs.org). Since Nick has no arms or legs I have to be his arms and legs for him. With that said, I just wanted to thank you for everything you taught in your class. What you taught has made a big impact on the way I live my life, the way I take care of my body, and the way I take care of Nick. Although I might not have been in the best shape of my life when I took the course with you, I have taken what I’ve learned from it and continued to apply it to my life. I have continued to train hard to take care of the body that God has given me (especially now since I am keeping in shape for 2 people), and I’ve found enjoyment in serving others. With taking what I’ve learned from your class I’ve shed 30 lbs, I run an average of 3 miles a day, and I am able to help Nick with everything he needs (especially lifting and carrying him). He weighs 75lbs, and every time I lift him up I always remember you stressing to us about using our legs! Looking back I know that God had me in your class for a reason, other than just a PE Credit. Thanks again and I hope you and your family are doing well! To God be the glory.
Bryan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MslbhDZoniY

http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/media/lwl08-colombia-modelo-prison/lwl08-cd3-modeloprison-800.mov

(Bryan is in the middle on this clip, with his arm around Nick, in red t-shirt. He is pushing his wheel chair into the prison.)

God is looking for the David with only a stone, and a stick,(I Samuel 17:50) or a young man with only loaves and fishes to do His great work (keep on , keeping on). Remember, no little people, no little jobs, no little places when obeying the Lord's call.

The next time, your job gets you down, don't lose out, purpose/passion/and commitment!
and remember Camelot!!!

"I have won my battle and here is my victory, What we did will be remembered, you will see! Tom of Warwick, one of what we all are. Less than a drop in a great blue motion of the sunlit sea. But it seems some of the drops do sparkle... some do sparkle! RUN BOY RUN!!, RUN! RUN!"