Mary was running errands on this beautiful Saturday…she had hit a few yard sales as she journeyed through her list of errands and on the road headed home she noted a small yard sale sign that was standing shyly at the end of a gravel drive. She turned in, and made her plight down a long, windy, tree lined drive. She parked and hauled the cranky children out of the car and began walking across the overgrown yard. She noticed an older man putting items into boxes…. his back to her, she began to browse through the what nots and decided this was really a wasted stop. She generally sought after things for the kids…clothes, new toys, books and movies. She occasionally browsed through house wares and was generally extremely selective and purposeful in her hunt for treasures. She gathered the children by the hand and began to walk back towards the car and she risked another peek at the quiet man off to the side….he was holding a pair of figurines…and from a distance she could not tell what they were…but she felt like a invisible magnet was drawing her closer. She approached the man and noticed huge tears flowing down his cheeks as he held a gaudy pair of roosters. He looked up and met Mary’s gaze…she smiled compassionately at him and spoke, “those are beautiful roosters sir” He smiled and began to tell the story of how his wife had crafted and painted them herself in 1952. He went on to tell that he was moving and he had to get rid of all the remaining items here at the old homestead. His son was simply unwilling to store the “junk” for him and he had only a small room at the retirement home he was being taken to next week. Mary felt sad for the sweet man and sat down beside him in the chair…he began to talk of his wife and what a “Jesus loving woman she was” and how he had always ignored her attempts to include him in her daily bible readings, or her trips down to the local church to worship. He chose the bottle over her “Jesus.”
He spoke of the moment she passed and how she smiled and told him the angels were bringing Jesus to take her home…he spoke of his life a bit more and all the time he had wasted…
Mary reached out and took the man’s hand…. and began to share the gospel of Christ with him…this time, in his sobriety and in his loneliness he listened…. and on that afternoon in his yard he bowed his head and gave his heart to Jesus. Then in a cry of exclamation and a hug filled with joy Mary told the sweet sir that he would not only meet Jesus one day, but also his dear wife would be waiting on him to spend all of eternity with him. She asked him if he had a Bible….he told her he did, but reading was hard for him since he had quit school as a mere youth. Mary jumped up and ran to the car and returned just a second later holding a brand new sealed box set of the Bible on CD’s! She was breathless as she handed them to the man, and said “sir, to be honest I told my son he couldn’t have them because we didn’t need them and the man at the last yard sale said for us to take them and if we didn’t need them to pass them on to someone who did!” Mary began to giggle as she spoke of the Lord and how amazing he is to orchestrate events in our life for us! The old man then asked her if she would be willing to bring him some of that “gospel” music for him to listen to….his wife loved gospel music and would listen to it over and over again….her sister had come and taken almost all of her personal belongings….
Mary left that day with an address and a pair of gaudy roosters.
She arrived home and laid her children down for a nap and went to her bedroom and hit her knees…she raised her hands in praise to the Lord because just last night she had contemplated her continued existence here on earth…the only reason she had to live was her children, and while that was enough, it was still unbearable, and Satan had filled her heart and mind for so long with his lies and his torments. Her own alcoholic husband was more interested in his current girlfriend than he was her or her children…she was broke, lonely, defeated, and simply did not know what tomorrow held for her….she praised her father in heaven for giving her a new hope today….a new hope for her future, and a new hope for her husbands salvation. She thanked God for her new friend, her new plight to fill this mans heart with encouragement and with music to lift his spirits, and she thanked God for her beautiful set of roosters.
Remember, God is bigger than anything that you face, and He has a purpose for you, even if you don’t see it now….just open your heart to Him, ask Him daily to use you as His instrument.
Blessings to all of you~
JLeigh
He spoke of the moment she passed and how she smiled and told him the angels were bringing Jesus to take her home…he spoke of his life a bit more and all the time he had wasted…
Mary reached out and took the man’s hand…. and began to share the gospel of Christ with him…this time, in his sobriety and in his loneliness he listened…. and on that afternoon in his yard he bowed his head and gave his heart to Jesus. Then in a cry of exclamation and a hug filled with joy Mary told the sweet sir that he would not only meet Jesus one day, but also his dear wife would be waiting on him to spend all of eternity with him. She asked him if he had a Bible….he told her he did, but reading was hard for him since he had quit school as a mere youth. Mary jumped up and ran to the car and returned just a second later holding a brand new sealed box set of the Bible on CD’s! She was breathless as she handed them to the man, and said “sir, to be honest I told my son he couldn’t have them because we didn’t need them and the man at the last yard sale said for us to take them and if we didn’t need them to pass them on to someone who did!” Mary began to giggle as she spoke of the Lord and how amazing he is to orchestrate events in our life for us! The old man then asked her if she would be willing to bring him some of that “gospel” music for him to listen to….his wife loved gospel music and would listen to it over and over again….her sister had come and taken almost all of her personal belongings….
Mary left that day with an address and a pair of gaudy roosters.
She arrived home and laid her children down for a nap and went to her bedroom and hit her knees…she raised her hands in praise to the Lord because just last night she had contemplated her continued existence here on earth…the only reason she had to live was her children, and while that was enough, it was still unbearable, and Satan had filled her heart and mind for so long with his lies and his torments. Her own alcoholic husband was more interested in his current girlfriend than he was her or her children…she was broke, lonely, defeated, and simply did not know what tomorrow held for her….she praised her father in heaven for giving her a new hope today….a new hope for her future, and a new hope for her husbands salvation. She thanked God for her new friend, her new plight to fill this mans heart with encouragement and with music to lift his spirits, and she thanked God for her beautiful set of roosters.
Remember, God is bigger than anything that you face, and He has a purpose for you, even if you don’t see it now….just open your heart to Him, ask Him daily to use you as His instrument.
Blessings to all of you~
JLeigh
