Dear Reader:

A couple of weeks ago, our pastor, Jeff Kackley, asked me if I would do the Children’s Message during the August 2 church service since he and his family would be on vacation. I agreed…already picturing  just the right story in mind for the occasion.

Unfortunately…I couldn’t find my old copy of the book for the right story.. I even ordered a second copy of the book but when Saturday arrived and the book still hadn’t shown up in the mail…I knew Someone was telling me to go in a different direction.

Originally this anecdote had come from some type of leadership class I took eons ago… by now…the names of the main characters and the detailed plot had faded… but the “gist” of the story remained.

I worked Saturday morning on “resurrecting” the story (backwards) while shaking off the dust from my own memory. The final result was a “revised” rendition of the original story (floating around in cyber-space somewhere.)

During the summer months, especially late summer, the congregation number wanes considerably…so I was wondering if I would have enough “children” to even tell a story…but everyone pitched in and it ended up with a few small children, plus the older youths, who dusted off their own memories and returned to sit on the floor forming the circle for the Children’s Message. Thanks everyone for participating!

“The Spirit of Abraham”

Once upon a time….a young teenage boy passed his driving test and received his temporary driver’s license. He was overjoyed and begged his father to let him take his car out on some country roads by himself. (A little “James Taylor” here.)

His father finally agreed, but only for  a couple of hours and then he had to be back before it got dark. The teenager readily agreed and off he went. Ah…the sweet taste of freedom…all he could think about, while driving the back rural roads around town, was how soon he could save enough money to buy his own car.

While daydreaming about the future the sky suddenly turned dark… lightning and thunder started rumbling off in the distance. Within minutes a torrential downpour hit the car and the nervous driver started scrambling around the console… trying to remember where the switch was for the windshield wipers.

He took his eyes off the road for just a second…but that was all it took… the next thing he knew the car had slid right into a shallow ditch…he was stuck and would need help to get the car out.

The thought of having to call his dad and tell him what had happened was just too humiliating…he had to find someone to help him with the car without his dad finding out if possible.

The rain had settled down to a drizzle when he spotted a farmhouse a few hundred yards away. He hurried over to it and knocked on the door. An aging farmer answered the door and nodded silently while the young boy explained his predicament.

“Don’t worry son…(said the farmer) I think we can get that car out without your dad being any the wiser…Abraham can help us.”

As the boy looked around the parlor seeing no one else…the farmer took him back to the front door and pointed to a far pasture where the outline of an old mule was just barely visible.

“Yup…old Abraham is our “man”…he can help us  get the job done.”

The farmer grabbed a long stretch of rope and off the two went in search of Abraham. The closer they got to the mule, the more dismayed the teenager became. Abraham looked like he was one step from the glue factory…a scrawny bag of bones awaited them. There was no other choice, however…so the teenager prayed hard.

As the farmer walked beside old Abraham, talking to him softly and petting him…the poor old mule wheezed and gasped as if it would be his last breath. They finally reached the ditch.

The farmer hitched the car to Abraham and then called out:

“Pull Moses, Pull Noah, Pull Peter…Pull Abraham!”

Miraculously old Abraham pulled that car right out of the ditch. The overjoyed teenage boy gave the old mule a big smooch in sheer gratitude.

“You did it Abraham…you did it!” he yelled.

He thanked the farmer profusely but then stopped and asked one last question of him….“Why did you yell out those other names before you called on Abraham to pull?” he asked.

“Well, said the farmer, Old Abraham used to be part of a team of mules that would carry wagons of railroad ties down to the track when it needed fixing.”

“These days Old Abraham is almost completely blind…he doesn’t know the other mules passed on to mule heaven some time ago…but as long as he thinks he is still part of a team…he just keeps on pulling!”

………………..

I concluded the story with making the analogy that all of us are a part of God’s Team and He is always pulling for us!

It was a definite God’s Wink to remember this old story…because I needed to be reminded of this unique bond of team spirit too!

* Brooke has been sharing her story of kindness, generosity. and team spirit by heading up the Hands of Christ (back to school supply program) at her Presbyterian church in Walterboro.

It requires months of preparation and lots and lots of “hands” to pull this amazing shopping spree off each year….but Brooke said that this one photo tells the whole story of why she and so many others muster up their strength and compassion to help families in need….return to school with the necessary supplies to learn.

So until tomorrow… Help us Father choose the stories we need to hear as stepping stones along our life’s path.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* I told you yesterday that I kept Eva Cate and Jakie Saturday night…and one photo I took of them reminded me of a much earlier photo….those Dingle gals can put a “strong-hold” hug on a little brother now! Mandy and Walsh…Eva Cate and Jakie.