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The blessings that are bestowed by our good works can never be measured and
placed in a box. The positive and reinforcing memories that are left will
last a lot longer than whatever deed it was that was done. We are to
remember this simple fact so that we will be quick in helping others and
sharing a positive side of life. It is so easy for anyone to intervene and
put a smile on someone else's face, but we must take the initiative and
decide to be uplifting and shed light on every dark situation. We'll soon
find how blessed it is to be a blessing and we will receive the benefits of
following God's Word in being the light of the world. (Matthew 5:13-16)
I hope you are encouraged by today's message to see that you do have the
ability to be an encourager and you can make a difference in the lives of
those around you.
A COMFORTING SCOOP
My father was a simple man but he had a wisdom that could never be doubted.
No matter the problem, he could always make the pain go away. From a small
ice cream shop near the rice fields of Eastern Arkansas, he squeezed out a
living. During the lean years of the Depression, he thrived but often some
of his best customers did not. Often, they wouldn't have quite enough to
pay, but he'd always make sure everybody got a taste.
“Can't deny a man a little comfort,” he'd say, as he would scoop out a
portion from a gallon tub with his walnut-handled ice cream scoop. “God
wants us to help one another. He wants me to do it with ice cream.”
So many times I saw him use that tool to come to my rescue, if I fell off
my bike or twisted my ankle. With a relaxed tone of voice, he'd use that
scoop to offer a friend a consoling dip of vanilla.
When I reached the age of nine, my father was soon to close the ice cream
shop. Watching a fiery red sun set over a rain-soaked rice field, he
offered me some words of wisdom that have lived on. “Always remember to
offer those less fortunate a little bit of kindness.” After he said those
words, he handed me the ice cream scoop I had seen him use to dish out
tenderness. With a tear in his eye and a ripple in his voice, he said, “One
day, you will know how to use it, just as I have.”
I held on to that gift, as it was the last time I saw him. My mother
helped me strip the wooden handle and covered it with a new coat of
varnish. We also discovered that the scoop was made out of silver. So,
we polished it to a brilliant finish. On a wooden plaque bought from our
neighborhood hardware store, the scoop was mounted. I placed the plaque
on the wall of my room as if it was a trophy. Indeed, it was.
Twenty years passed and I found myself a father. One Sunday afternoon, I
took my children over to their Grandma's house for a visit after church.
My kids loved going to Grandma's just as I did in my youth. My mother and
I chatted in the porch swing as the children sat on the ground looking for
four-leaf clovers.
Suddenly, one of the children shouted in pain. It was a bee sting to the
leg of my four-year old and tears coming from her eyes were real. I knew
that she wasn't allergic but still she was hurting. My mother ran in the
house to find some first aid ointment. My wife ran to grab some
antiseptic. I, on the other hand, just ran.
Wondering what to do, I paced back and forth. Suddenly, as if by magic, I
remembered my father. Quickly, I ran into my old bedroom and pulled the
ice cream scoop off the wall.
As my wife doctored my daughter's leg, my mother looked on. In a few
moments, I came from the kitchen with five bowls of chocolate ice cream,
balanced perfectly in my hands. My mother smiled as she said, “I see you
found that ice cream scoop.”
I smiled in return and replied, “I was taught by a good teacher.”
As I look back, I see that God was the Great Comforter. Sometimes He uses
the painful moments in our lives to teach us. But He always softens our
fall in ways we cannot see. That is why it was always my father's ice
cream scoop that provided the comfort, but it rested in God's hand.
By Harrison Kelly
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus declares “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the
salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth
good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a
candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify
your Father which is in heaven.”
Psalm 37:3-5 “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the
land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and
He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the
LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.”
Colossians 3:23-25 “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord,
and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of
the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong
shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of
persons.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today’s Selected Poem: LIFE WITHOUT PURPOSE
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem57.htm
Today’s Selected Testimony: OUT OF DARKNESS
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony103.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
Gods Work Ministry |
