Hearthstone - September 1999

Contents
xxx	Volume 14, No. 9	September 1999
A Wall Or A Bridge? Hugs 'N Tugs by Wendy Lefko Greiner No Fear Doing Your Part Best of LifeLine by Rev. Larry W. Greiner Value In Disaster A Futile Chase Winter's Gone	A GLOW IN THE DARKNESS One evening on a hike along a country road, someone noticed a tiny speck of light in an adjoining meadow. It was smaller than the reflection of the tiniest star on a surface of water. The light disappeared in a moment, but others appeared intermittently. An amateur naturalist explained that the light came from the glowworm. He picked up one for inspection. It was a very small insect, emitting a light so feeble that it would be noticed only a dark night. In the great meadow of life there are people of whose presence we are not conscious until in some hour of darkness we see from those insignificant lives an unexpected glow of courage, faith, neighborliness, friendliness, devotion, or love. A lowly private in a losing battle performs an heroic act which turns the tide; a young man makes a home for his orphaned brothers and sister. A tiny glow from one life in darkness is worth a thousand of those who can sparkle only in the sunshine of prosperity and well being. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). —Selected

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The forests would be silent, indeed,
if no birds sang except those who sang best.

No man or woman ever had a nobler challenge or a higher privilege than to bring up a child for God, and whenever we slight that privilege or neglect that ministry for anything else, we live to mourn it in heartache and grief. —Vance Havner

A WALL OR A BRIDGE?
	They say a wife and husband, bit by bit, Can rear between their lives a mighty wall, So thick they cannot talk with ease through it, Nor can they see across, it stands so tall! It's nearness frightens them but each alone Is powerless to tear its bulk away, And each, dejected, wished he had known For such a wall some magic thing to say. So let us build with master art, my dear, A bridge of faith between your life and mine, A bridge of tenderness and very near A bridge of understanding, strong and fine— Till we have formed so many lovely ties There never will be room for walls to rise! —Author unknown Back to Contents

HUGS 'N TUGS
By Wendy Greiner Lefko
	A treasured friend for more than 20 years and one of my bridesmaids, recently went to be with the Lord. Taken in the prime of life by a quickly spreading cancer, she left behind a dear godly husband. Kathy loved the Lord with all her heart, striving to please Him in all she did. I benefited from her wisdom and joyful attitude. I was privileged to have known my friend, and she will be sorely missed. I recently read of an exhausted young mother who found herself overwhelmed with all her responsibilities of the house, her kids, and her husband. When she began to voice her frustrations to the Lord, she felt Him ask her in her heart, "Which one do you want me to take away?" Our greatest complaints can quickly vanish when we realize what blessings we really have. The loss of my friend has made me thank the Lord for each moment I'm allowed to live on this earth, and to remember my purpose to serve Him with my whole heart, soul and mind. None of us knows when the Lord will call us or a loved one home. Life is short, and each breath we take is a gift from God. Kathy is with the Lord, with a perfect body in a perfect place. That is where her Savior wanted her. But He has left the rest of us here to faithfully live out our days in His service until He calls us home! I count it a privilege to have known my friend, as I count it my greatest privilege to know and serve my God and King. "Our citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20). (Dedicated to Kathy Barnes Albright) Back to Contents

NO FEAR
	Passengers below the deck Huddled as the ship, Storm-tossed, made them afraid They'd not survive the trip. Yet one lad in their midst Courageous, though quite small, Climbed back on deck as if He weren't afraid at all. Soon he returned and smiled, "The Captain's my Father, you see. We need not be afraid. The Captain just smiled at me." —Perry Tanksley Back to Contents

DOING YOUR PART
	Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in my life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out for a part in a school play. His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen. On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to pick him up after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement. "Guess what, Mom," he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me: "I've been chosen to clap and cheer!" "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might" (Ecclesiastes 9:10). — Selected Back to Contents

"Lost time is never found again"
—Benjamin Franklin

BEST OF LIFELINE
By Rev. Larry W. Greiner
	In Scotland there was a boy in his late teens, named Robbie, who was troubled about his soul. He sought in vain for someone to tell him how to find peace with God. His father, though a religious man, could not understand why a boy such as Robbie should think himself lost. In distress Robbie sought out the minister who told him to put away his gloomy thoughts and focus on brighter things. He suggested that Robbie take up violin lessons, as he was musically inclined. But the boy gave up in despair. "I cannot fiddle when I am lost in my sins and may die and go to hell." A physician was brought in who advised that the boy be sent to a sanitarium as a mental case. For weeks Robbie paced a narrow room in anguish as he cried out, "Oh that I knew how to get rid of my sins!" One day a Christian lady visited the institution to help and comfort a friend who had suffered a nervous breakdown. Passing Robbie's room she heard his sobs and cries of anguish. She was given permission to speak with him, and after hearing his story she pointed him to Christ and left him with a New Testament. She marked several passages which she asked him to read. The light of the gospel shone into his darkened soul, and Robbie was wonderfully transformed. The change in his behavior was so evident that the attending physicians decided that the treatments had cured him. They sent him home. "I'm all right now, for my sins are gone and my soul is saved," he said to his father and brother. The shocked father immediately called the minister, thinking that Robbie had had a relapse. When the minister reached the house Robbie greeted him somewhat sternly. "Minister, minister, why did you get me to try to fiddle my sins away? Why didn't you tell me about the blood of Jesus that cleanses from all sin? What the fiddling couldn't do, the Lord Jesus has done for me." The embarrassed minister realized a work of God had taken place in the soul of the young man. He assured the father that Robbie was all right. Everyone soon realized that Robbie had indeed passed from death unto life. Many were won to Christ. There are some pastors today who are unable to help troubled souls, and the Lord often uses Christians like the dear lady who helped Robbie, to win the souls to Christ. Let us be prepared always to share the gospel with the lost, as God gives us opportunity. "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10) Back to Contents

"Where there is room in the heart,
there is always room in the house."
—Sir Thomas Moore.

VALUE IN DISASTER
	Thomas Edison's laboratory was virtually destroyed by fire in December, 1914. Although the damage exceeded $2 million, the buildings were only insured for $238,000 because they were made of concrete and thought to be fireproof. Much of Edison's life's work went up in spectacular flames that December night. At the height of the fire, Edison's 24-year-old son, Charles, frantically searched for his father among the smoke and debris. He finally found him, calmly watching the scene, his face glowing in the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind. "My heart ached for him," said Charles. "He was 67 — no longer a young man — and everything was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, "Charles, where's your mother?" When I told him I didn't know he said, "Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives." The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, "There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew." Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver his first phonograph "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). —Selected Back to Contents

A FUTILE CHASE
	According to the Chicago Tribune, on March 3, 1995, a thirty-eight-year-old man who was walking to his temporary job at a warehouse in Rosemont, Illinois, tried to get there by cutting across eight lanes of the Tri-State Tollway. After he crossed the four northbound lanes, however, the wind blew off his hat. The hat flew back across the northbound lanes, and he chased it. There a semi-trailer truck struck and killed him. A person can lose everything by chasing after nothing. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). Back to Contents

I was a sparrow trapped
on a sun porch,
battering myself
from pane to pane,
frantic to be free.

At last I found Your door.

It had been open
all the time.

—Terry Germain Free
Back to Contents

When I think of God, my heart is so full of joy
that the notes leap and dance as they leave my pen;
and since God has given me a cheerful heart,
I serve Him with a cheerful spirit.
—Franz Joseph Haydn

WINTER'S GONE
By Wendy Greiner Lefko
	In loving memory of Kathy Barnes Albright 1959-1999 Flowers fade Their petals fall Winter claims The green of all. Leaves descend The birds retreat All is brown Beneath my feet. Coldness chases Warmth away The sun sets on Another day. Winter comes To take its place Shedding summer's Warm embrace. So comes death Without a sign Coldly creeping From behind Knocking on The human door To claim its soul For evermore. But what it finds Beyond this wall 'Tis written down, "Christ paid for all". Death has no claim To this one's soul For Jesus paid The debt in whole! Though death may claim The body's shell It has no power Where Christ doth dwell. And in this soul Christ had the throne So now this soul Is God's alone! No death can conquer, Take, or claim That which bears Christ Jesus' name. Death lost its hold So long ago Because God's power Made it so. And this dear soul Claimed Christ as King So death no longer Holds its sting. Death knows it has No power here So off it creeps In shame and fear. Now this soul Fears death no more For she has reached That heavenly shore! Her winter's gone The rains are o'er Here flowers bloom For evermore! The time for singing Of the birds has come For spring is here And she is home!

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Revelation 7:16,17).