Danny and Cathy

Two dear friends, Cathy and Danny, showed up at our house with a tomato pie.  I have never heard of a tomato pie, and Cathy was surprised that I hadn’t.  She said it was a southern thing, I’m southern, and I should know about tomato pies.  But I am not really southern, I am more of a hillbilly from West Virginia, and they are very different.  But tomato pie is good - it’s like pizza without the pepperoni and a pie crust instead of a pizza crust, and deep like a pie not flat like a pizza ... well, it’s just a tomato pie.  They also brought a sweet card reminiscing of years gone by when our children were young, growing up together (and a generous gift inside).  One of the two best things about teaching is to see your former students all grown up into productive adults (the other is summer vacation).  Cathy taught our children, and we taught their children.  To quote a famous politician, “It takes a village to raise a child.”  And that’s true. Paul said in Romans 14:7, “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.”  Each of our lives has a ripple effect upon many others.  Things that we say and things that we do affect others - sometimes for many years and many generations.  Hey, take the time to talk with someone younger than you are today.  Speak encouraging words into them.  Then live your life to back up what you have said.