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It is easy to get down and discouraged when we look at the tribulations
this world is going through, but for the believer in Christ, there is an
eternal hope that this world cannot comprehend. God promises victory to
each believer and so we are to rejoice in the good times of life as well as
the bad. Take comfort and encouragement in the Lord and remember that we
do have the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Be strong in Him and
take refuge in God's Promise of Life everlasting. (Philippians 4:4-8)
This is a great story that shows how we are to look at a person's heart
more than their outward appearance because the inner beauty will greatly
outlast the outer beauty that we focus on so much. I hope you are blessed
by today's message.
PERFECT APPEARANCES
John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and
studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station.
He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't--the
girl with the rose. His interest in her began thirteen months before in a
Florida library.
Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words
of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft
handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front
of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell.
With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City.
He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.
The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II.
During the next year and one month, the two grew to know each other through
the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was
budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that
if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. When the day
finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first
meeting--7 pm at the Grand Central Station in New York.
"You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel."
So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved,
but whose face he'd never seen. I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened:
A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde
hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as
flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green
suit, she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely
forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small,
provocative smile curved her lips.
"Going my way, sailor?" she murmured.
Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis
Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well
past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than
plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the
green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two,
so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for
the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own.
And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible; her gray
eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped
the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to
her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something
perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must
ever be grateful.
I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even
though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment.
"I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad
you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?" The woman's face broadened
into a tolerant smile.
"I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady
in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my
coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should tell you
that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She
said it was some kind of test!"
It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true
nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. "Tell me
whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "And I will tell you who you are."
Author Unknown
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Romans 12:15-18 "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that
weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but
condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of
all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with
all men."
2 Timothy 2:22-24 "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness,
faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender
strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto
all men, apt to teach, patient."
Proverbs 31:10-12 "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far
above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he
shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days
of her life."
Proverbs 31:26-31 "She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is
the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and
eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her
blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done
virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty
is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her
of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."
All scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today's Selected Poem: A STRONG WOMAN…
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem115.htm
Today's Selected Testimony: ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony27.htm
In Christ's Service,
Dwayne Savaya
Gods Work Ministry |
