The Phone Call

I am reminded today of the scripture in Genesis where Isaac sowed in a time of famine, and reaped a hundred fold return. (Genesis 26:12) As I sit outside on my balcony, the sky is overcast. The air has a slight chill, with a hint of fall on the horizon. I am praying and studying the word of God. My mind is also running in several different directions.

I think about the phone call I had last night. I get one from him every night. It was my seven year old grandson. The boy has the gift of gab. I say he inherited it from his mom, who likes to talk, and from his late great grandmother, who passed away several years before he was born. Zach likes to talk, and last night he was on a roll. But his subject threw me. I'm not sure where he got his ideas, who he had been listening to. Could it be that God was speaking to the boy? I think of Samuel, who heard the voice of the Lord at an early age.

He was talking about helping the poor. He spoke of how the church (of which he is a part of, and I serve as pastor) needs to be more involved in helping the poor. And we need to be more involved in missions work, and in giving to missions. He went on with several ideas about fundraising. I listened, and wondered. I felt challenged, but was thinking of my own needs, and the needs of the church.

The economy is down. People aren't working. We are doing all we can to stay above water. I wanted to tell him these things, but didn't have the heart to speak negatively about helping the poor or missions work. I didn't want to tell him that I wanted to do more, it just wasn't possible right now. I didn't want to dishearten little man, which I affectionately call him. After all, he is right. We need to do more.

Last night's phone call is stuck in my head, in my mind. And as I think about it today, I am reminded of this verse in Genesis. Isaac sowed when it didn't look like the right thing to do, or the right time to do it. He sowed anyway. He gave, and he kept on giving. He was faithful to serve, and faithful to expect. He believed God would produce a bountiful harvest. And God did!

I am thankful for the phone call last night. I am blessed by the child like faith and the enthusiasm. I am challenged in these times to give more, do more, pray more, be more!

Take time to smell the flowers

Zach, my five year old grandson, loves to pick flowers. He will pick from the arrangements my wife has planted in the yard to the little white flowers that grow among the grass. He loves to pick them for his mom and for my wife, his maw maw.

Zachary will pick the flowers and smell them. He will brag on how pretty they are, and then say "Maw maw will love these." His interest in them isn't for himself, but for his intended recipient. Zach realizes God made the beautiful flowers and that his grandmother and mom enjoying them. What he doesn't realize is that even more than the flowers he picks and brings them, they love the fact that he cares enough to want to bless them.

I am afraid that we lose something when we grow up. We lose our excitement with the little things, the simple things. We lose the joy of giving and blessing. We lose the child like anticipation of spreading our love with a flower picked from the garden. We don't take the time to smell or enjoy the flowers.

Watching Zachary today reminded me that I need to take time to smell the flowers. I hope you will do the same.