Mom Taught me to be a Missionary!

Another lesson from Mom's recent home going.



She taught me how to be a missionary. For many years she served as the Superintendant of Vacation Bible School at the Panama Baptist Church in our community. About Thursday evening before VBS week, she would say to my Dad, brother, and me that it was time to get the pick up truck cleaned up and put the side boards on for VBS. We would clean the truck to within an inch of its life. He had a saying that we should clean so as to be able to eat off of it. Now we hauled cattle on that truck on many occasions. So scub it we did! Then we would haul twenty-five to thirty children to VBS on that truck. Now I know that she would have been locked up if that had been today. But I shared this story recently when I was privileged to speak during revival services at Macedonia Baptist church in Battleground, Cullman County, AL. A gentleman walked up and told me his name was Neal Buckelew and he had ridden that pick up truck and had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior as a result of one of those VBS's. I shared this story at Mom's home going celebration to her honor and to Jesus' glory!



She may have never preached in one of America's great pulpits, but whether she was shelling peas under one of the big oak trees in the yard or pushing our blue jeans through the old ringer type washing machine, she always preached and lived Jesus!

Bullets Unfired!

Lesson #4 from downsizing.

While emptying out our Pittsburgh house I found some interesting items that carried me back over the past forty years of marriage and ministry. None were so sobering as the envelope containing six 22 caliber bullets unfired. As a young pastor, I grew quite frustrated with the fact that many people would call me to salve their consciences, when in reality they had already made the decision that they were going to do something that they knew to violate God's Word. For instance, couples would call me after they had already scheduled their appointment with the divorce lawyer. They were less than enthusiastic about pursuing the solution to their marital problems, but wanted to be able to say that they had tried talking with the pastor.

Having voiced my frustration on this matter, I was soon faced with and opportunity that was quite unexpected. A man who attended our church called to say he'd like for me to take a ride with him. I reluctantly agreed as it was not a convenient time for me. We rode for about twenty minutes hardly saying a word between us, but I could see that he was agitated about something. Then he began to share that his daughter had been sexually violated by someone connected to one of our church softball teams. We talked through it and had many more hours of talking even after this ride. However, at one point in this ride, he placed in my hand six 22 caliber bullets and said he did not think he would need them now. Dealing with people at the level of their need can be messy, but on occasion you may save a life as well as see folk come to know the Savior.

Unemployed Score Board Operator!

Lesson #3 from downsizing.

During the Moving Sale at our Pittsburgh house we met a number of very interesting people. An older couple stopped by accompanied by their son and his wife. We had several minutes of interesting conversation. Then I discovered that the younger gentleman had moved to Pittsburgh from Ohio a few months earlier and had now lost his job. It was at this time that I discovered the amazing fact that he had come to the 'Burgh as the scoreboard operator for the Pirates and the Steelers. Now he was laid off from that job. If you follow sports at all, you can see why the Pirates may not need a scoreboard operator, since they hardly ever score. But the Steelers? Are they getting ready for a dismal season? I'm certainly not making light of this man's plight and I do pray he will find work soon. But I could not help but see the humor in this encounter.

There is a lesson here for us all. Only two things can happen when we compare our score in life to others. 1. We discover we are ahead of others and get prideful. 2. We discover we are behind where others are and we get depressed. Both are detrimental to our development. Perhaps we should fire the scoreboard operator as well!

Inside Out!

Lesson #2 from downsizing.

After hauling numerous trash bags to the street for pick up from our house in Pittsburgh and having sold all that we could at the gigantic moving sale, we had some large items that we knew we would most likely have to pay someone to move for us. Therefore we called a person who gave us a price and a time when we were to do this thing. Then we sold even more stuff. Therefore I called the man to re-negotiate the price. He got irate with me and refused to come at all. Not knowing what we would do, I walked into another part of the house where Dolly showed me an email from someone who saw our ad on Craig's List and said they were starting a non-profit to give appliances, etc. to needy families. This seemed like a perfect fit so we made contact. However, we soon discovered that they had only an SUV and a great idea but no way to make it happen. As this was sinking in immediately after worship on a Sunday, I looked out the window to see a well-dressed lady looking through our trash by the street. It turns out that she was just returning from church also. I walked out to meet her and she indicated that she had a tenant who did not even have a laundry basket. I gave her two and we continued to talk. She went home and got her truck and hauled off two large loads for her tenant and the local Goodwill Thrift Store. Mission accomplished in a way we had no idea about when the day began. How God does provide!

We invited Judy to join us for lunch between loads and as we sat on the floor (our furniture had already been picked up for the move to Syracuse), she noticed the shirt Dolly was wearing was from Iron City Church. This is the church that our son started in the North Hills of the 'Burgh about three years ago. She said that some of her tenants had attended and that she had, in fact, attended at least once. We later found out that she was a nurse and worked in recovery at a local hospital. That is when I began to put together where I had heard that voice. She was the nurse when I had a colonoscopy a few years ago. After working together for the afternoon, I commented that she now knows me inside and out! God provides and it's fun!