Approaching eighty years, he had been frugal and had provided well for his financial needs. He came by my office to say hi. It was not the visit that surprised me, but how he got there. Sidney had a can route that he ran every day. He put wire baskets on his old fashioned bicycle and would ride up and down his self-appointed route and pick up cans on the side of the road. He was not doing it to keep the highways clean. He was earning money, as meager as it might be.
One day I went out in front of the church building just as he rode up. His bicycle was what I would call a piece of junk. It was at least twenty years old, had only one gear, and wobbled as he rode. Since I knew he could afford anything he wanted to buy, I asked him, “Sidney, why don’t you buy you a new bike, a ten-speed bike.” He thought for a minute and then answered, “Well,” he said, “I can barely use the one gear I have.”
Sidney grew up in a time when one-speed bikes were the norm. It had been that way for seventy plus years and he was not going to change something that worked. He was right, his bike did work. It worked, but there was something better. A few years later, Sidney died and he still had that one speed bicycle.
It has been many years since that event, but every so often I remind myself about Sidney’s one-speed bicycle. I think about it when I get stuck in how things used to be. I think about it when the leaders gets stuck in how thing used to be. We love “how things used to be” because we know how things worked out when things were like they used to be. The future is unknown and in an effort to bring comfort to it, we cling to “how things used to be.”
You cannot go back in time. Well adjusted happy people are people who can look to the future and embrace whatever changes it brings. As Christians we do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. That is enough for us.
Sidney’s could have had a better bicycle, but he just would not challenge his old thinking when presented with something new.
Lonnie Davis
God is great and it is easy to think that he is not concerned with details. The Scriptures do not portray God as being unconcerned with details. Nowhere is this more evident than in the story of the third post- resurrection appearance of Jesus to His disciples.
It was getting toward evening and Peter decided to go fishing. The others disciples joined him. In the dawn of early morning, as the disciples were about 100 yards from shore they saw a stranger on the banks of the Galilee. He shouted to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” (John 21:5). When they said they had not, He gave them instructions about where to fish. Following his instructions, they caught so many fish one would think the nets would break. They came to the shore and ate with him. That is the quick summary of the story in John 21. A closer reading will reveal that God takes care of the little details in life.
When he told them where to fish, they caught 153 fish – large fish. (21:11).
When the disciples got to the shore, they found that Jesus had cooked breakfast for them. He had a fire of burning coal, some fish and some bread. (21:9).
Jesus served the bread and fish. (21:13). He didn’t just say, “There it is guys, help yourself.”
Several things about this story are amazing to those who think: (1) Upon seeing the risen Lord, someone still counted the fish, (2) Jesus brought bread for the disciples, (3) Jesus caught fish before they even saw him, (4) Jesus cooked breakfast. (4) Jesus served the breakfast.
Life is about the little details. Those who will not pay attention to the little details will have a hectic life. They will constantly feel like the wheels are coming off or life is unraveling before their eyes. Someone has to make the fire. Someone has to count the fish. Someone has to serve the bread. Someone has to do the little things.
Mountains are made of little stones. Miles are covered by little steps. Love is show with little acts. Successful lives are built on little things. If God takes care of the little things, then surely we must do the same.
Lonnie Davis
The drive from my house to the church building is a beautiful drive. Every day I get to drive a couple of miles through a state park and year round it is beautiful. In the winter, the snow can hang onto the tree limbs that outline the road. In the spring the new growth is amazing. In the fall, the changing of the colors is a site to see. I love it.
A couple of weeks ago something happened to ruin it – well, at least a part of it. Someone accidentally ran over a skunk. I know it was an accident because no one would ever do such a crazy thing on purpose.
For the past few days, when I drive down that beautiful road there is a section of the drive that stinks. Over the past two weeks it has gotten a little better, but it still stinks. I have seen policemen pull over and remove the bodies of dead animals from the highways, but no one has removed this dead skunk. During these two weeks, I have been reminded of several truths from this incident.
1. A mess is a mess, even when it is an accident.
Many people excuse every terrible thing they have done with a "I didn’t mean to." Children think that an apology is all it takes to make everything okay. I sometimes appreciate an apology, but a stink is still a stink. Do not focus on the word "sometimes" in the last sentence. A true apology is always appreciated, but there are people who apologize, but never try to fix anything. That is not a real apology.
2. Sometime things happen in life that you can’t fix.
No one wanted to clean up the mess, so we just have to wait till it goes away on its own. David asked for forgiveness from his sin. God forgave him, but the sword never departed from his house. Jacob wrestled with an angel till the angel touched him in the hip and for the rest of his life he limped. Even with forgiveness there are often consequences.
3. The smell will eventually go away.
Right now it may seem like you will never get past your problem. Don’t be impatient, this too will pass. I love the fellow who was asked what his favorite Bible verse was and he quoted "it came to pass." What ever your hard spot is, it will pass. It always does. The phrase "it came to pass" is found 453 times in the KJV.
This skunk too will pass.
Lonnie Davis