Tornado Brings Out The Best And The Worst

 bob-maclafferty  No Responses »
Apr 272020
 

best and worst On Easter night, seven tornadoes tore through East Chattanooga and neighboring areas. Still struggling through the threat of COVID-19, this was hard to take. Crises seem to bring out the both the best in people and the worst.

That Monday morning, our family grabbed gloves and a chainsaw and jumped in the truck to find ways to help. We were able to clear several trees blocking roads and help several families with trees blocking driveways and front doors. At one location, a large tree had almost completely blocked the road. As our family worked to clear it, a strong, young man showed up and immediately began grabbing cut limbs and logs to help us. He had been on his roof to assess damage and had heard our chainsaw. He immediately came down the road to see who needed help. What a great guy!

Meanwhile, we noticed others driving and pushing carelessly by, heedless of our clearing efforts. Later, we heard local stories of some looting and unscrupulous roofing contractors. We also noticed some vendors inflating prices of recovery products, taking advantage of people in crisis.

The best and the worst. Maybe extreme circumstances bring out extreme reactions, both good and bad. Carbon turns to either coal or diamonds under pressure. Companies that truly value their team members repurpose and keep them in a crisis rather than dumping them. The best contractors find ways to serve and conduct business with sensitivity. The worst gouge and grab, using the crisis to take advantage of customers who are at a disadvantage.

As crisis piled on top of crisis in our region, what have they brought out in you? The best or the worst? Do hard times make us turn inward, isolating and complaining? Or do they help us to recognize our blessings and then reach out to others hurting around us? No matter what your faith walk is, during prayer or a meditative moment, dig deep and resolve to find a way to help someone this week who has a greater struggle than your own. Let these crises make us thank more, volunteer more, empathize more, grow more. Yes, we’ll continue to see the best and the worst come out in those around us.

I challenge all of us to look for the best in us, and when we find it, to offer it liberally and joyfully to those around us!

#wonderwomenof7North#COVID-19

The Widow’s Last-part 2

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Jan 272011
 

 She pushed on, further and further, gathering a few twigs here and there that had been missed by others. Suddenly, a long shadow crossed her path. Startled, she looked up and involuntarily gasped.  Skin bronze-baked by the sun, lips cracked and bleeding,  the man swayed slightly in the harsh wind that blew his long, unkempt beard. His clothes were dusty and sweatstained.

He leaned toward her. Dark, piercing eyes arrested her attention. His mouth opened and he spoke, his first words sounding like a rusty, long-unused hinge, then growing smoother, deep and rich-

He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 1 Kings 17:10 NIV

His voice quickly dissipated in the oppressive heat. She slowly stood, keeping her eyes fixed on him.  Her heart began to beat, drumming loudly against her rib cage. “Give”, she heard the voice between heartbeats. She involuntarily looked around her for the source.  Looking  back at the man, her eyes softened as she recognized his need. She nodded slightly and turned to make her way back to the well at the edge of town.

“And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” verse 11

Incredulously, she turned again to face the man.  Surely he wasn’t serious!

 “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” verse 12

His gaze never wavered.

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. verse 13

Have you ever been asked to give in a way that didn’t make sense?  God does not need to make His requests subject to a test of obvious logic in our minds.

Father, give me the faith to give when You say to give and how You say to give.

The Widow’s Last-part 1

 bob-maclafferty  No Responses »
Jan 232011
 

The woman slowly made her way up the hill. She stumbled, fatigue and hunger etched clearly on her face. In her mind, she clearly saw her young son standing hopefully in the doorway of their small home. His stomach already distended, his arms and legs pathetic in their skeletal appearance. It would not be long now. She only hoped to find a few overlooked dry branches to start a small fire, cooking their last bit of flour and meal into their last bread for their last meal. The last until they died. A solitary tear made its way down her dusty cheek, leaving a track behind.

She heard the voice in her head again. “Give,” the voice said.  Every day for the last seven days she had heard the voice.  Every day she tried to dismiss it as a product of her hunger induced delirium. Every day she thought,”I have nothing to give- nothing! Who could ask this of me?”

Then the word of the LORD came to him:  “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 1 Kings 17:8-9

Do you ever feel that too much is being asked of you? Have you ever thought, “If people knew the stress load I am carrying, they wouldn’t ask more of me.” Or “They know what a tough time I’m having. How could they justify asking anything of me?”

Have you heard a voice saying, “Give?” In what areas of your life have you been recently challenged to give?

Father, why do You ask me to give when what I really need is to get?