Encourage One Another
July 10-11
Stirring up a dessert for house guests for the weekend my mind floated back to the home of a neighborhood friend. While I normally do not tell names and tales too, I will simply call this woman Mrs. Smith.
Mrs. Smith had five children and was always at home, usually in the kitchen, unlike many of the mothers in the neighborhood who had maids and were off to their Jr. League meetings, bridge clubs, tennis groups, and weekly hair appointments. Most of the jobs which my friends' fathers held were a well known fact: attorneys, bankers, a VP at the railroad and owners of their own successful companies. Where Mr. Smith worked was never discussed much. I remember thinking it had something to do with electricity.
The Smiths also were the only people I knew who attended a Baptist church. Most of my friends attended the large Presbyterian or Episcopal churches downtown. (We weren't part of the in crowd, but I loved our neighborhood Methodist church.)
Mrs. Smith always had a smile on her face and spoke with the warmest most welcoming voice. Their home could easily be described as a safe haven and her children all developed the same sweet spirit as their parents. Somewhere along the way, Mr. Smith became the president of the Electric Steel company which he had worked for and was every bit as successful as the other fathers, but remained very humble.
I'm not sure when it hit me how relevant their faith was to their lives and how their home life exemplified Biblical principles, but now I see it is Jesus who made this family stand apart.
All this led me to think about the letters we write to people when their parents die and all the nice things I would have to say to the Smith children. Instead I decided the thing to do was to pick up the phone and call Mrs. Smith while she is still alive and let her know I've seen Christ in her all these years.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Stirring up a dessert for house guests for the weekend my mind floated back to the home of a neighborhood friend. While I normally do not tell names and tales too, I will simply call this woman Mrs. Smith.
Mrs. Smith had five children and was always at home, usually in the kitchen, unlike many of the mothers in the neighborhood who had maids and were off to their Jr. League meetings, bridge clubs, tennis groups, and weekly hair appointments. Most of the jobs which my friends' fathers held were a well known fact: attorneys, bankers, a VP at the railroad and owners of their own successful companies. Where Mr. Smith worked was never discussed much. I remember thinking it had something to do with electricity.
The Smiths also were the only people I knew who attended a Baptist church. Most of my friends attended the large Presbyterian or Episcopal churches downtown. (We weren't part of the in crowd, but I loved our neighborhood Methodist church.)
Mrs. Smith always had a smile on her face and spoke with the warmest most welcoming voice. Their home could easily be described as a safe haven and her children all developed the same sweet spirit as their parents. Somewhere along the way, Mr. Smith became the president of the Electric Steel company which he had worked for and was every bit as successful as the other fathers, but remained very humble.
I'm not sure when it hit me how relevant their faith was to their lives and how their home life exemplified Biblical principles, but now I see it is Jesus who made this family stand apart.
All this led me to think about the letters we write to people when their parents die and all the nice things I would have to say to the Smith children. Instead I decided the thing to do was to pick up the phone and call Mrs. Smith while she is still alive and let her know I've seen Christ in her all these years.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
