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{Straight From the Heart} *Peace* 5/25/00
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PEACE
By: Irene Budd
Slam! The front doors of the church shook with the impact of brass
meeting brass, the sound invading my reverie. Intently listening to
the priest's sermon, my concentration was broken-again. This promised
to be another Sunday just like all the others.
Skipping up the center aisle in his electric blue sneakers, knee high
black socks, plaid shorts, mismatched tee shirt, and dirty baseball
cap jammed backwards on his head, Bobby sounded his entrance.
He stopped at various pews along the way, stage whispering loud
'hellos' & waving madly, doing little tap dances when he recognized a
face. All eyes were on him as he crowded into an already full pew,
right smack in front of the priest.
How bold! Didn't he have any courtesy for others? Why couldn't he
be like everyone else & get to church on time? I was getting tired of
this routine and was ready to walk out of church-permanently. How
could I worship with his noisy interruptions?
Then there was the collection. Towards the end of the homily (as if
anyone was still listening) Bobby would bolt upright, shove his hands
into his pockets & look for change. If he had not brought any money
with him, he'd turn to each & every person around him & panhandle for
quarters for the collection basket. He'd thrust his palm in front of
an unsuspecting worshiper until it was filled with a coin. The way he
counted out his coins & flung them into the basket, one would think he
was giving a his life savings.
When Bobby prayed, his voice boomed as if he was trying to break the
sound barrier, a high pitched whistling noise from his hearing aid
accompanying his resounding praises. He held the missal an inch in
front of his face, clueless as to page number, finger sliding along
the inked lines of the text as if he knew exactly what he was reading.
He had a contented grin on his face when he sat down. Rocking back &
forth in the pew, he'd chant, "Very nice, very nice."
The Sign of Peace was the ultimate low point. I had watched him wipe
his nose on his hands & slick back his greasy shoulder length hair
from the time of his arrival. Who could pray after he appeared? He
stepped out of the pew & went down the aisle, insisting on shaking
every single hand he could reach & extending the greeting of peace.
How dare he!
I couldn't do it. I could not shake the hand of this grown man with
the mind of a child. My past trick of pretending to drop something on
the floor had worked for a while. I could bend down & stay hunched
over, and when he realized that I was not going to stretch out my hand,
Bobby had always moved on. He never remembered from week to week that
I wasn't about to do more than grunt a halfhearted "Peace" from where
I crouched. He was persistent. That's for sure!
Today I had a problem: there was no room for me to squat down to the
floor. I couldn't even sit and busy my hands by rummaging through my
purse. My face felt like it was on fire. Fight or Flight kicked in,
and I panicked. What was I going to do?
Agonizing over what I could do to avoid an embarrassing scene, I was
struck with a paralyzing awareness of my hypocrisy. My lungs felt as
if all the air had been sucked out of them. My heart pumped so hard I
was sure everyone could hear it.
What had I done? The realization of my arrogance was followed by
instant shame . The truth was that I was the disabled one, the one
who needed God's mercy.
"Lord, what am I doing?" I prayed. I called myself a Christian,
but I couldn't shake the hand of this innocent man? Did the
commandment "Love your neighbor" only mean to love those who were
healthy, clean, well dressed, intelligent, and prompt?
"Forgive me, please. What have I done?" The shameful awareness of
my mean spiritedness poured over me. Immediately I knew I needed a
divine power to raise up my leaden arm & allow me to grasp the fingers
of Bobby, genuinely wishing him the peace that I had not allowed myself
to feel.
Head down, I heard Bobby's lisp before I saw him. "Peace of Christ
be with you, " he called out in his singsong voice. After what
seemed like hours, I slowly lifted my tear-stained face and looked
into his childlike brown eyes. It was then that I felt an undercurrent
of peace and love pulsate through me. Hesitatingly, then assuredly,
I replied, "And also with you." I took his hand in both of mine &
started pumping it up & down, oblivious to time & place. "Yes, Bobby,
peace be with you, too."
Bobby sits with us now. He skips up the aisle until he finds me,
interrupting the congregation with his joyous greeting, stepping over
laps so he can sit next to me. I hold the songbook for us and we
sing, my arm around Bobby-God's messenger who taught me the meaning of
the words, "Make me a channel of your peace" May I never forget.
Irene Budd
Reeni RN@aol.com
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A little bit about Irene:
Irene Budd has been married 31 years to her college sweetheart. At
age 40 she returned to school to become a registered nurse, and now
works the 11p-7a shift on a medical-surgical floor of a small city
hospital.
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REQUESTS:
From: BColon@hodgsonruss.com (Beth Colon)
I ask that you pray for my cousin's 11 year old son, Danny, who is very
ill and apparently has been for most of his young life. He's not a
complainer and has dealt with his illness with courage and stamina,
but he really needs God's help now. He needs his blood pressure to
come down and his heart to be strong enough to have the surgery he
needs. Please pray for Danny and his family. I thank you from the
bottom of my heart.
Beth Colon
From: laketa@ticon.net (L. Benedict)
Would appreciate a few extra prayers for Ed from your readers. Ed has
been in the hospital since last Thur. Unknown infection plus the lung
cancer. Breathing very hard for him right now. Tonight he is having
3pts. of blood.
Thank you.
La Keta Benedict
From: DHAngelGirl72@aol.com
I went to see my Neurologist yesterday and he thinks that since I was
getting so much better that I am possibly being over medicated. That
explains why I want to sleep all the time. He told me to reduce one
of the pills I am taking Xanax 3 times a day and he wants me to cut
down to 2 a day and after 2 weeks cut down to 1 a day and eventually
he is going to take me off of them. He said he wants to see me in 4
weeks but since I already have an appointment on June 2nd I'll see him
in 2 weeks. I am having the worse muscle spasms and I am afraid of
falling when I transfer from my wheelchair. Please pray that this
works and he won't have to put me on steroids. I'm a little fearful
because I came a long way last year after being bedridden for 5-6
months, but I know that God's will, will be done in this matter. He
always pulls me out when I am in need and holds my hand.
Grace and Peace,
Deborah L. Hartzell
From: nannyroney@juno.com (barbara g roney)
My friend has a darling two-year-old daughter, Bailee, who has been in
the hospital for three weeks. The doctors from two hospitals have been
trying desperately to find out what is wrong with this little girl.
Bailee's hand started trembling four to five weeks ago. She has
progressively gotten worse and now her entire body trembles and jerks and
she is unable to walk or crawl without assistance. She has had several
MRI's, a couple of CAT scans, spinal taps, blood tests etc. She has been
checked from top to bottom. Some doctors feel that she has neuroblastoma.
Other doctors think she may have "dancing eyes, dancing feet." One doctor
thinks there is a chance that a new couch which had been sprayed to
protect the fabric may have caused this so a lab is testing the couch.
Please pray for Bailee and for her doctors, that they will be led to the
right diagnosis.
Thank you. Barb
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Thought For The Day:
"People are alike in their promises. It is only in their deeds that they differ."
Verse for the Day:
"Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?"
Proverbs 20:6
Kid's Thought for the day:
"If you don't get it say so."
Parent's Thought For The Day
"Babies leak. From both ends."
(Bruce Lansky)
Coach's Thought For The Day
"Football is a game in which there are 22 players on the field desperately in
need of rest, and 65,000 people in the stands desperately in need of
excercise."
Deep Thought For The Day:
"It's always bothered me when people say "It's always in the last
place you look." Of course it is. Why would you keep looking after
you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they?"
_
/_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\ / THUNDER27@aol.com http://members.aol.com/Thunder27/index.html
/_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \ Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live for the Son
\_\/ of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
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seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was
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really, really, really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so
special to us all. My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for
the video too! Thanks again!"
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