Kindness

 

Our Sunday school lesson has been on the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22&23.  Last Sunday, Brother Roth used the story of Ruth gleaning to illustrate kindness, which is the fruit of gentleness.  Boaz was kind to Ruth.  He allowed Ruth to glean among his farm workers even instructing them to drop a few “handfuls on purpose.”  The workers were not only to allow Ruth to work right there among them, but they also intentionally dropped some stalks of grain on the ground while Ruth wasn’t looking.  Boaz not only wanted Ruth to have food, but Boaz wanted her to keep her dignity.  What a beautiful picture for us.  Paul reminded the Ephesians in Acts 20:35, “… to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  When we give to others, we are giving as unto the Lord, and the Lord will bless the giver.  Boaz blessed Ruth, but Boaz himself was blessed in return by his own giving.  Boaz found a wife in Ruth, they had a child, Obed, who had a son named Jesse, who had a son named David, whose descendant was Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world!

Flowers of the Field

 

Sunday afternoon, I took these pictures of the front yard at church.  Aren’t these tiny little flowers so cute?!  But they are only weeds.  No one planted them.  Brother Tom mowed the church yard last week and he will mow it again next week, so these little flowers/weeds will only survive for a few days.  But they did a great job brightening my day while they lasted.  Their brief blooming window is long enough for them to thrive.  And they provide a great lesson for us:  Bloom where you’re planted.  Bloom while you can.  Don’t worry about tomorrow; just do what you can today.  David understood the brevity of life when he said in Psalm 103:15&16, “As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.”  Hey, serve the dear Lord while you can because you will soon be in eternity.

Swimming

 

I met Larry Smith in 1968 when we both lived in Riley Hall in college.  Larry worked at American National Bank on the evening shift proofing checks.  As an employee, he was allowed to use the bank property on Chickamauga Lake.  Swimming at the lake became a staple for our dorm.  I tried to be the first one into the water every time we arrived in Larry’s 1965 Chevelle.  But once, when I dove in, I didn’t realize that the Army Corps of Engineers had lowered the lake by three feet in order to kill off mosquito larvae.  I went in head-first with arms outstretched and hit the rocky bottom.  I came up with lacerations on my chest and puncture wounds in my right arm.  It took three stitches to close up a gash near my elbow.  But I was fortunate.  I could have hit my head and done serious damage.  Joni Eareckson Tada became a paraplegic in just such a diving accident.  Often, I thank the dear Lord for watching over me in my recklessness.  Paul said in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  God was good to me, but actually, God was good to Joni too because God has a plan for each of us.  Hey, let’s follow God’s plan.