|
Continued From Page 1
A
teacher seated near the middle of the bus steadied the bag
of gifts on her lap.
“Don't we pay enough taxes to handle situations
like this?” she said to a friend seated beside her.
“It's this tax-cut crazy Republican administration,”
her friend replied. “They rob the poor and give to the
rich.” “No, its the Democrats,”" a gray-haired
man behind them interjected. “These Democrat welfare
programs just make people lazy and keep them in
poverty.” “People
have to learn to save their money,” a well-dressed young
college man added. “If that old woman had saved when she
was young, she wouldn't be suffering now. It's her own
fault.” And
all these people beamed with satisfaction that their
acumen had delivered such trenchant analysis.
But,
a kind businessman felt offended by this murmuring
detachment of his fellow citizens. He reached into his
wallet and took out a crisp twenty-dollar bill. He strode
proudly down the isle and pressed the bill into the old
woman's unsteady, wrinkled hand. “Here, Madam, get
yourself some shoes.”
The old woman nodded her head in thanks. The
businessman strode back to his seat, feeling pleased with
himself, that he was a man of action.
A
well-dressed Christian lady had noticed all of this. She
began to pray silently. “Lord, I don't have money. There
is no way I can help. But Lord, I can turn to you in every
need. Lord, I know that you are a loving God. You make a
way out of no way. Now Lord, let your blessing shine on
this old woman. Let shoes fall like manna from heaven, so
that this old woman can have shoes for Christmas.” And
the Christian lady felt supremely spiritual.
At
the next stop, a young man boarded the bus. He wore a
heavy blue jacket, a maroon scarf around his neck, and a
gray woolen cap pulled down over his ears. A wire running
under the cap and into his ear was connected to a Walkman.
The young man jiggled his body in time to music only he
heard. He paid his fare and plopped down on the sideways
seat directly across from the old woman.
As the young man's glance caught the old woman's
bare feet, his jiggling stopped. He froze.
His eyes went from her feet to his. He wore his
expensive, new, brand name sneakers. For months, he had
saved from his minimum wage pay to buy these sneakers.
Everybody in the gang would think he was “so cool.”
The young man bent down and began to untie his
sneakers. He removed his impressive new sneakers. He
removed his socks. He knelt down before the old woman.
“Mother,” he said, “I see you have no shoes.
Well, I have shoes.” Carefully, gently, he lifted the old woman's crusty feet in
his hands. He placed his socks and his fine sneakers on
the old woman's feet. The old woman nodded in thanks.
Just then the bus arrived at the next stop. The
young man left the bus and walked away, barefoot in the
snow.
The passengers crowded at the windows to watch him
as he plodded barefoot through the snow.
"Who is he?" one asked.
"He must be a prophet," said another.
"He must be a saint," someone suggested.
"He must be an angel," said yet another.
"Look! There's a halo around his head,"
somebody shouted.
"He must be the Son of God," said the
Christian lady.
But the little boy said, “No Mother, I saw him
clearly, He was only a man."
|
Today
at 4:00 pm Elders meeting.
Winter
Camp will be January 14th - 17th
(Martin Luther King weekend) at Florida Bible Camp.
Do
to some recent incidents on and around the
church property. It has been recommended
that you do not leave any valuables in your
automobiles.
Dale
Spung
Marie
Barber
Hebert
& Delsie Fuqua
June
Garcia, Wendell Harris, Marvin McElwain, Flavil
Miller, Carmie Green’s brother, Jesse
Underwood, brother of Robert Underwood, Becky
Burford, sister-in-law of Richard and Wathada
Thomas, Floyd Nickerson, friend of Wayne
Welsh, and Wayne Strasser are undergoing
treatment for cancer.