Hearthstone - May 2002

Volume 17, No.5 MAY 2002
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CONTENTS A MOTHER'S INFLUENCE HUGS 'N TUGS By Wendy Lefko REMEMBER TO FORGET THE BEST OF LIFELINE Rev. Larry W.Greiner MOTHERS ON WATCH BROKEN AND LOVED THE TOUCH OF JOY TOP OF THE LIST THE UNFAILING FRIEND	A MOTHER’S INFLUENCE I took a piece of plastic clay And idly fashioned it one day; And as my fingers pressed it still It moved and yielded at my will. I came again when days were past, The form I gave it still it bore, And as my fingers pressed it still, I could change that form no more. I took a piece of living clay, And gently formed it day by day, And molded with my power and art, A young child's soft and yielding heart. I came again when days were gone; It was a man I looked upon, He still that early impress bore, And I could change it never more. —Source Unknown Back to Contents

Mother’s arms are made of tenderness, and sweet sleep blesses the child who lies therein. —Victor Hugo

HUGS 'N TUGS

By Wendy Greiner Lefko
	The lights began to dim, the music began to swell. Sound effects projected the threat of a looming thunderstorm while images on the stage began to slowly appear, clearly signaling the presence of imminent danger to the main characters of the drama. As we watched this animatronic stage production of the Lion King, I held our three-year-old on my lap. Her eyes widened as all of her senses took in every sight and sound of the show. She was teetering between enjoying the presentation with great fascination and fearing the unknown as the bad characters were waiting to make their move. Suddenly, amid loud roars and thunderous sound, she turned to me and whispered something I couldn’t at first understand. After repeating herself time and again to get me to understand what she was saying, in exasperation she folded her hands as a visual aid and repeated once more the phrase I finally comprehended, "Let’s pray." Her fear of the seeming evil and danger portrayed on stage, along with all the special effects specifically designed to promote an atmosphere of terror and doom prompted her to take the one action she could think of, and that was to pray! Surprised but thrilled with her child-like faith, I quickly and quietly whispered a prayer in her ear. No sooner had I said "Amen" when she unfolded her hands, placed them back in her lap, sighed with a smile and said, "That’s better." She once again returned her full attention back to the show with great enjoyment, free from fear as it proceeded to a happy ending. As a mother I was so thankful to see the heart of a three-year-old know where to turn in time of fear or trouble. Her first response was to go to the Lord in prayer. Is it ours? When we face danger of one sort or another is our first instinct to turn to our Heavenly Father? If we have come to know Him as the loving, protective, all-powerful Father that He is, that should always be our first response. Even a child knows that. "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help" (Psalm 121:1). Back to Contents

REMEMBER TO FORGET
	Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was once reminded of an especially cruel thing that had been done to her years before. But Miss Barton seemed not to recall it. "Don’t you remember it?" her friend asked. "No," came the reply, "I distinctly remember forgetting that incident." Back to Contents

THE BEST OF LIFELINE
By Rev. Larry W. Greiner
	In a far country lived a band of minstrels who traveled from town to town presenting music to make a living. They had not been doing well. Times were hard, and there was little money for common folk to come to hear the minstrels, even though their fee was small. Attendance had been falling off. So, early one evening, the group met to discuss their plight. "I see no reason for opening tonight," one said. "To make things even worse, it is starting to snow. Who will venture out on a night like this?" "I agree," another disheartened singer said. "Last night we performed for just a handful. Fewer will come tonight. Why not give back their meager fees and cancel the concert? No one can expect us to go on with so few are in the audience." "How can anyone do his best for so few?" a third inquired. Then he turned to another, older man, sitting beside him. "What do you think?" The man looked at his troupe and said, "I know you are discouraged. I am too, but we have a responsibility to those who might come. We will go on, and we will do the best job of which we are capable. It is not the fault of those who come that others do not. They should not be punished with less than the best we can give." Heartened by his words, the minstrels went on with their show. They never performed better. When the show was over and the small audience gone, the old man called his troupe to him. In his hand was a note, handed to him by one of the audience just before the doors closed behind him. "Listen to this," he said. There was something electrifying in the tone of his voice. Slowly the old man read: "Thank you for a beautiful performance." It was signed very simply—"Your King." How often do we fret over the few number of people we may have to minister to? The Lord is not concerned with the number but our faithfulness. He ordains the number Himself, so why should we get upset and feel our work for the Lord isn’t worth it because so few are in attendance. To the Lord, just one is worth it all. You don’t know whom you might be ministering to. It might be the next James Dobson, the next Amy Carmichael or the next Billy Graham. But most of all, remember, your King, the Lord Jesus Christ is always in the audience and above all you are ministering for Him. Press on. "And He said unto him, Well done thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities." Back to Contents

Let us pray not for an easy life but for a purifying journey. Let us pray not for God’s permission to do what we want to do but for His persistence to do what He wants to do. —Nell Kennedy in Worthy Vessels
MOTHERS ON WATCH
	She always leaned to watch for us, Anxious if we were late, In winter by the window, In summer by the gate. —Margaret Widdemer Back to Contents

BROKEN AND LOVED
	"Do you like dollies?" a little girl asked her houseguest. "Yes, very much," the man responded. "Then I’ll show you mine," was the reply. Thereupon she presented one by one a whole family of dolls. "And now tell me," the visitor asked, "which is your favorite doll?" The child hesitated for a moment and then said, "You’re quite sure you like dollies, and will you please promise not to smile if I show you my favorite?" The man solemnly promised, and the girl hurried from the room. In a moment she returned with a tattered and dilapidated old doll. Its hair had come off; its nose was broken; its cheeks were scratched. An arm and a leg were missing. "Well, well," said the visitor, "and why do you like this one best?" "I love her most," said the little girl, "because if I didn’t love her, no one else would." —R.E. Thomas Back to Contents

THE TOUCH OF JOY
	I have met people so empty of joy, that when I clasped their frosty finger tips it seemed as if I were shaking hands with a northeast storm. Others there are whose hands have sunbeams in them, so that their grasp warms my heart. It may be only the clinging touch of a child’s hand; but there is as much potential sunshine in it for me as there is in a loving glance for others. —Helen Keller Back to Contents

TOP OF THE LIST
	Lorne Sanny of the Navigators once wrote of his mother: "My mother gave birth to me in a frontier house on a Midwestern prairie. On the kitchen counter she placed a list of the ingredients necessary for my formula. At the top of the list was 'prayer,' and that remained at the top of her list for me throughout her life...I have her to thank for firmly establishing my spiritual roots." Back to Contents

THE UNFAILING FRIEND
	The friendship of Jesus is lasting. Other friends may grow old and cold. It is not so with the friendship of our Savior. Other friends may possibly misunderstand us. Jesus never. His love is the same in youth as in old age. The friendship will rather grow stronger in old age. When you have lost what to you seemed everything, and you find yourself friendless and alone, despised and forsaken, Jesus will be your dear and precious Friend. —Anonymous Back to Contents

We can and should worship God in gratitude for what He has done for us, but it reaches a higher level when we worship Him simply for what He is, for the perfections and excellence of His own being. —J. Oswald Sanders

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