Refueling The Soul – Page 8 – The Turning Points of Life

Faith in a Nutshell

One of my friends at church was collaborating with ministers from other congregations in our area, exploring how someone can impact another person spiritually when they only have a brief moment to convey some powerful aspect of their faith. The purpose was to discover a way to equip the church family with a simple phrase that encompassed the essence of their faith in a positive non-offensive manner. The phrase or sentence needed to be very personal so that its delivery was natural, the profession convincing and hopefully inspiring further inquiry.

For want of a better term, I considered their idea in the common phrase to describe something great in as few words as possible, i.e. “in a nutshell”.

When the notion of a brief phrase was expressed to me I saw it as a challenge. I was not known for brevity in expressing deep spiritual concepts. Being trained to think like an engineer, I was detail oriented in thought and hence in expression. So “in a nutshell” was a real challenge for me.

As I considered what my faith meant to me I revisited my faith based experiences. In retroactive self-discovery, I uncovered a myriad of experiences that shaped my life. These were the turning points that changed me forever.

As an example, I recalled a moment when someone, while conversing with me about spirituality, asked me this question: “In a few words, what is the first thing that comes to your mind that benefited you by going to your church?”

Immediately I said, “I learned to revere and respect my elders.”

Asked to elaborate, I said, “As a little boy, my mother taught me to go to the front row of pews immediately when a church service was ended and greet all the elderly ladies that sat in the front row. Some of these elderly ladies were widows, and some were my relatives. In fact, one was my one and only surviving grandmother, my Oma, and another was my aunt Frieda.”

Allan

Oma

Aunt Frieda

In retrospect, I firmly believe and am convinced that this simple teaching gave me a sense of respect for my elders. This aspect of my character served me very well throughout my life. The elders who guided, coached and mentored me blessed me in uncountable ways.

Faced with the self imposed challenge of reducing the many benefits my faith afforded me over my lifetime, I set out to boil them down to as few words as possible. Numerous iterations were created and discarded for various reasons. I wanted my “nutshell” to be profound without being intimidating. I needed it to convey a powerful benefit that would inspire further investigation. I wanted it to be unique and not some typical tired old standard Christian cliché.

After working and praying over the many thoughts and notions that crossed my mind, I came up with the following as my expression of what my faith means to me in just a few words:
“My church environment has opened profound experiences with God, positively changing and enhancing my life. The resulting personal growth is my treasure and it can be for you too!”

Every entry into my church brings new understanding and new revelations. It is such that causes me to enter God’s sanctuary every chance I get.

There is a fascinating story in the Psalms that testifies to what I have found in attending church services. It is the 73rd Psalm and it tells the story of a man named Asaph.

Asaph was troubled by the fact that so many of his contemporaries were deceitful and downright evil, yet to him they seemed to prosper more than he. He became frustrated while doing his best to fulfill the laws of God and yet seemed to be unsuccessful. This weighed heavy on his soul as he lamented his case before God.

Then he had his turning point.

He confessed his misery saying, “When I tried to understand this, it was too painful for me”.

But then came the point of turning as he said, “Until I went into the Sanctuary of God; then I understood. . . .”

I can’t count the number of times I entered the sanctuary of God with the same feelings as Asaph, and left the house of God with that same sense, now I understand. With understanding came strength, comfort and peace; spiritual stamina to stay the course.

Turning Points

A simple exercise focused on an important aspect of our life can transform our awareness of aspects previously buried and out of sight and mind. Such awareness allows one to make wise decisions that will impact the future.

Reliving our life experiences has the effect of seeing our own “big picture” and making us a more grateful person. Grateful souls seem to have a blessed peace about them.

Seeing the value of the encounters we can have in the sanctuary of God brings us there time and again even when faced with various forms of resistance. Turning point moments are experienced there more than we might expect.

FRIENDS

Years ago I found myself dissatisfied with what seemed to me a lack of deeper understanding of the meaning of words we use every day in our conversation. This meant missing out on fully appreciating what we say and what we hear, underestimating meaning and losing something valuable.

One of those words was “appreciation” and I delved into it studying its fuller meaning and how it impacted me. (See my Post “Appreciation” June 2015) In that process, I gained an understanding that spread across many aspects of life.

Another one of those interesting words is “friend”. I remember mentioning to someone that they were my friend and their retort was, “You mean I am just a friend?”

What struck me was that this person did not appreciate what it meant to be considered a friend. To their understanding, a friend was something less than what I believed and understood a friend to be. I began my investigation.

I started with the dictionary and uncovered this:
Friend = one attached to another by feelings of personal regard; a well-wisher, patron or supporter; one who is on good terms with another.

A good start be still not very satisfying I went to the Bible to get a better sense of what more could be attributed to the meaning of “friend”.

In a statement by Jesus I found something quite interesting. In the Gospel of John, I read,
John 15:13-15 New King James Version (NKJV)
13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

When Jesus made a special note to teach His disciples a meaning for being His friends, I realized that to Jesus a friend was quite special. Special to me was that He saw one as willing to give his very life for a friend! That really touched me. The very ultimate sacrifice was worthy of a friend. Jesus went further to classify those who loved and followed Him as His friends, in other words, those who He was willing to die for! He didn’t stop there when He went so far as to give them every gift from His Father that He had received.

I decided I would go even further in my study to see if there was more to be learned. It was then that I came upon a passage from the seldom read books of what is called the Apocrypha. There I found a very encompassing meaning for “friend” from what is often attributed to Solomon.

Faithful Friends are secure shelters & strong defenses;
Who finds such has found excellent treasures.
Faithful Friends are beyond price;
Their Excellency & worth more than money can buy.
Faithful Friends are elixirs, medicines for life;
Those who love & fear the Lord our God find them.
[Liberally translated/paraphrased from Ecclesiasticus 6:14-16]

When I read the phrases: “excellent treasures”, “beyond price”, “worth more than money can buy”, and “elixirs, medicines for life” I finally found satisfaction that I had embraced and understood what a true friend really meant. I also noted that in this passage, “friends” were described as “faithful” indicating that the notion of “friend” can be compromised by the evil one to create doubt and unbelief. Faithful Friends are true friends, not those who attempt to use the friendship for ulterior motives.

Turning Point

A turning point is often inspired by a sense of dissatisfaction with something we experience and one is prompted to dig beyond the obvious and search for value. It is in this search that treasures are discovered and obtained, seeming little things that become big influences on who we become. It fascinates me how such little moments guided by the Holy Spirit build in us treasures of great value.

Make-A-Wish and the Hands of God

My very dear friend Dawn’s teenage daughter Zoey was in her 22nd week battling for her life against the ravages of leukemia. The battle was intense with significant complications that accompanied the disease. Zoey was in a local hospital with seemingly endless new issues cropping up that made her condition very tentative. The struggle with the side effects of heavy and potent medications added to the pain of the numerous complications that attacked different organs and parts of her body. Zoey was such a trooper that the story of her battle reached far and wide across the globe. Greetings of hope and encouragement flowed in from everywhere. Make-A-Wish foundation, an organization that seeks to bring joy to children facing daunting and life threatening diseases and injuries, was appraised of Zoey’s battle. Zoey was asked what her wish would be.

Zoey was an avid fan of a popular TV serial program. The story was about the challenges of the survivors of a plane crash on a seemingly deserted island. Zoey was enamored with one of the actors on the program. Her wish was to have a tea party with the actor she enjoyed.

Make-a-Wish went to work contacting the actor’s agents to see if a meeting could be arranged. After some weeks of effort, his agents notified Make-A-Wish in response to their inquiry for Zoey. He was going to send a limousine to San Diego and bring Zoey and her parents to Los Angeles. Hotel arrangements were to be made and a program that included theme parks and a tea party was planned.
Dawn was contacted and told of this plan. She consulted with the doctors regarding the plan for Zoey’s Make-A-Wish trip to Los Angeles, but was given a devastating blow. The doctors said that Zoey’s condition at the time would not support such a trip; in fact, they were convinced it would be seriously detrimental to the treatment program. Zoey’s mother was facing a real dilemma. Obviously, her first consideration was to keep her daughter on a track for the best chance for recovery. But the cost, depriving Zoey of her wish was understandably troubling.

Dawn sent me a message explaining her concerns, hoping for some guidance to help her make the right decision.

My mind went back to the recent experience I had with my marine helicopter pilot. (See “The Volunteer” post October 2015) I explained to Dawn what I learned about facing such critical decisions. The best solution when decisions seem to be beyond us is to pray and put the decision into God’s hands. Then make the best decision you feel in our heart after your prayer. If it is the right decision God will support it. If it’s the wrong decision He will change things to insure you are blessed.

Dawn followed this guidance, prayed and placed it all in the hand of God. Then she made her decision. She called Make-A-Wish and advised them of Zoey’s condition. She explained the warning of the doctors and said that regretfully Zoey could not accept the generous offer from the actor. She asked them to kindly explain this to his agents and expressed her and Zoey’s sincere thanks and appreciation.

Just a few days later, Make-A-Wish contacted Zoey’s mother, explaining that they explained the situation to the actor’s agents. But the actor asked that since she could not come to Los Angeles, can he come to San Diego. When there was a positive response to his inquiry he decided that he would come to Zoey and spend some time with her at a local tea house. Dawn was thrilled and grateful. Just as we had discussed, by placing the decision in the hand of God, He changed things by touching the heart of the actor to go out of his way to fulfill the wish of a young girl battling for her life.

Shortly thereafter the actor came to San Diego and spent the afternoon with Zoey. They spoke of their love of the TV show and the intricacies of the story and plot.

The Tea House where the Make-A-Wish was realized

Afterward he remained in touch with Zoey through e-mails. The connection between them provided Zoey with a certain measure of joy as she continued her battle with the relenting disease.

Dawn shared with me the events as they unfolded. I reflected on the critical turning point that played such an important part of this experience. How God prepared me by the previous experience I had with my Marine friend moved my soul. He equipped me with the right solution for Dawn when she sought guidance. Without the deeply memorable lesson God provided me that moment months before, I would not have had the right word at just the right time. Dawn’s faith in God and His word brought about a lesson for all of us.

Turning Point

The turning point lessons God inserts into our life are never meant as a onetime blessing. God’s plan has the character of multiplying the understanding gained from turning point moments over time. I once noted to a dear friend and my spiritual mentor that he taught me to effectively commune with the Holy Spirit. When I practiced exercising a listening heart, the Spirit inspired thoughts that proved to be a blessing for me and those I had the opportunity to serve. I told him that I often received much more from my moments with the Holy Spirit than I expected. My friend wisely advised me to see myself as a well, filled by the Spirit when I was open to Him and empty of my own ideas. The concept he taught me was that the “well” would be drawn upon at just the right moment by the Spirit to make me a conduit of God’s blessing. A turning point of this story was the profound confirmation of my mentor’s wise council.

The Feather from Heaven

I travelled an extraordinary two year journey with Dawn and Zoey and their family that began when Zoey was diagnosed with leukemia. I was on vacation in New Jersey when Dawn called me to tell me of her teenage daughter’s diagnosis. The journey was one of constant prayers, conversations and faith building experiences. Those two years brought life changing experiences to all of us who were so intimately involved in Zoey’s courageous and often miraculous engagement with the complexities of her unique condition. The feather from heaven event happened at an intersection of a series of unexpected moments and turning point experiences. They continued to this day.

On August 7, 2012 Zoey passed on having courageously battled leukemia and a series of devastating complications that accompanied the disease.

On a beautiful sunny Friday morning in August shortly after Zoey’s passing, I joined her family at a cemetery for the internment of their beloved teenage daughter. I was asked to perform the graveside funeral service. During the moments just prior to the service, Zoey’s mother confided in me and shared her experience of earlier that morning.

When Zoey was still a healthy teenager, mother and daughter would walk in the mornings into their garden. Dawn led the way swiping away the spider webs that had been spun overnight along the path. Zoey was an animal lover, but spiders were the lone members of her list of bugs that she detested. Zoey loved feathers. They were simply special to her so she collected them. On this special morning when Zoey was to be laid to rest, Dawn decided to take the morning walk alone through the garden. As she swiped the webs out of her path, deep feeling for her Zoey filled her heart. Then, when she reached the end of the garden, a beautiful feather drifted down from out of nowhere. Dawn stopped and reached out for the feather. She felt as though it was a feather from heaven, Zoey saying to her, “Mother, I am all right! I love you!”

The graveside funeral service touched on the feather message from heaven and all of gathered there found a measure of comfort and peace.

At the time I was a volunteer for the Garden of Innocence, an organization dedicated to the dignified burial of abandoned babies. (Ref: www.gardenofinnocence.org and “The Garden of Innocence – God’s Plan for Me” Post of September 2015)

At one point during the Garden of Innocence services, the babies were honored as a new arrival to the Garden. This was done with the release of a white dove for the new baby and then three doves released one each for the three persons of the Trinity. After these doves were released, volunteers read the names of all the other babies previously honored in the Garden. Finally two large baskets full of white doves were opened and the air was filled with the din of flapping wings as the large group of beautiful white birds took to the air in flight.

On Saturday morning August 10th, with the experience of the previous day with Zoey on our minds, Carol and I went to the Garden of Innocence funeral service for Baby George. My part in the program of events was to lead the dove release ceremony.

The service began as usual with the Circle of Love. The Knights of Columbus in their full regalia marched up to the Garden carrying Baby George’s casket.

The casket was passed from one person to the next in a Circle of Love created by those attending the ceremony. Finally the casket was placed on a table and adorned with some flowers. Songs were offered up, a poem was read and a sermon rendered by a visiting minister. The casket was placed in the grave and rose petals were strewn into the grave by the assembled volunteers and visitors. The dove ceremony followed.

The dove ceremony was about to commence when Carol prayed and asked God if He would grant our dear Zoey to reach out to Baby George, take his hand and welcome him. She reluctantly asked too, if He agreed, to send some kind of message.

I took the microphone, introduced the dove program and said, “We now release a dove for Baby George.”

As the volunteer holding Baby George’s dove opened her hands, the dove took flight, flying around in an ever widening circle before rising up through the trees. Carol along with all those assembled watched the dove’s ascent. Suddenly, a large white feather fell from the dove and drifted earthward between the tree branches. Slowly the feather spiraled downward in a haphazard random path. The master of ceremonies was standing in the midst of the Garden and lifted her hand as if to catch it. Surprisingly, it found its way right into her outstretched hand.

Carol was astounded, as she saw this as Zoey’s message to say she was taking care of Baby George. She couldn’t contain her excitement. Before I could continue the ceremony she ran to tell me what had just transpired. She urged me to tell everyone the story. I agreed that this amazing story had to be told and right then and there.

I addressed the Garden Family and explained in detail how the big white feather that fell from Baby George’s dove had special significance. As I concluded, the master of ceremonies walked over to me and gave me the feather. She asked that I give it to Zoey’s mother in memory of Zoey’s volunteer work for the Garden’s babies.

Zoey

I continued the dove ceremony releasing doves for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The volunteers read the names of the 125 children already in the Garden. When the last name was read the rest of the doves were released.

The Doves Released for All the Babies in the Garden of Innocence

When the ceremony concluded, people came to me, many with tears, thanking me for sharing the awesome experience we had in the Garden that day. Then Joe, the man who provided the doves, came to me and said that it was the first time he saw a dove lose such a large feather at the Garden. Many of the volunteers who had witnessed previous funerals at the Garden reiterated Joe’s comment that such a feather display had never been seen before.

When I arrived home I immediately called Zoey’s mother and related the extraordinary events that transpired that morning in the Garden of Innocence with her daughter. I explained that I had the feather for her as a keepsake of the wonderful message from heaven from Zoey.

Throughout the rest of that day, I marveled at what lengths God had gone to give us such a profound experience. I was thrilled to have added to Dawn a measure of comfort in the wake of the loss of her daughter.

TURNING POINT:

Sometimes God decides that a miracle is in order to teach us some important message with profound consequences for our future. At the moment we experience the miracle, or an unusually strange series of events that challenge our understanding, we wonder what its purpose is and what we are to take from it. Over time, experience reveals its purpose and understanding is made complete.

El Camino Memorial Park – The Babies

On a Saturday morning prior to our Service for the Departed in 1982, Carol, Randy and I went to El Camino Memorial Park in San Diego. We went to visit the grave of one of our church members who had been laid to rest a few days before. We wanted to be sure that the fresh grave site was clean and dignified.

As we walked through the rows of grave sites in search of our church member’s grave, we glanced upon the many grave markers with names and dates. I was particularly taken and drawn to a grave stone of a young girl of seventeen. She had been murdered. I paused and prayed for her and her grieved parents. The deep hurt of her family leaped out of the inscription on the grave stone in the words “MURDERED” and “BARELY SEVENTEEN” and it gripped my soul.

We continued on until we found the grave of our friend. We found it was neatly groomed and still had some fresh flowers on it. After some moments of prayer and contemplation we left to return home.

As we drove through the park toward the exit, Randy saw a pond with ducks swimming around. He begged me to stop and allow him to go to see the ducks. I parked the car at the edge of the road and Randy and I got out.

We walked down the sloping grounds toward the pond. After a while observing the ducks swimming around the pond I told Randy it was time to leave and we began to trudge up the hill toward the car.

As we walked I looked down and noted that the grave stones had but one solitary date. I thought how unusual that was and realized that these were all very young children, infants most of them. I stopped in my tracks as the impact of this realization touched my soul. I stood transfixed as I took in the environment around me.

There in the midst of these graves were two pine trees with low hanging boughs. Dangling in the branches were toy cars and trucks, dolls and trinkets. I paused to consider this picture and realized that these toys were attempts of sorely grieving parents seeking to reach out to their child with a gift, a sign of their love for them not stilled by their death. I had this profound feeling in that instant; that what an amazing gift God gave us in prayer. We can pray for our departed loved ones, and thereby show our love for them in the spiritual and need not rely on the material.

Years later, I revisited this Garden of Innocents and found that the trees had been removed or trimmed and the toys and trinkets removed. Surveying the scene, now different from my first visit, in my heart I hoped that the parents of the babies memorialized there have since discovered that their prayers convey their undying love as no toy or trinket could ever do.

Turning Points

The first brief moment in the garden for innocent babies served to significantly deepen my appreciation for the awesome power of prayer. Faced with helpless and hopeless feelings that surface when we are unable to help someone, the power of prayer and the knowledge that prayer changes things, situations and me, becomes a turning point, revealing this God given resource known as prayer. It can be an inspiration to practice and master prayer, pouring out our deepest emotions to the One who hears and answers and changes things for our benefit.

The Cell Phone at Church

The advent of the 2000 millennium ushered in an age of electronic devices that have become ubiquitous and a constant presence in every venue of our lives. Cell phones became “smart” and provided an amazing plethora of connectivity at the touch of a finger. These devices have come to be virtually indispensable in the minds of everyone and particularly the teenage crowd. This reality played an interesting part of an otherwise typical Sunday morning at our church.

I made my normal early morning preparations to minister the Sunday sermon at our church in El Cajon, California. Everything that day was typical for a Sunday morning as I drove to church for the morning service. It remained typical until I was a few minutes into the sermon. It was then that I noticed a teenager in the congregation leaning over intently. At second glance, I noticed he was franticly entering information into his cell phone. My initial thought was that the sermon was possibly boring to him, but then thought otherwise. The notion that maybe he was taking notes of the sermon flashed into my mind.

After the service the lad stopped to greet me. I asked him to show me his phone which he proudly did as it was new and had all the latest features. I mentioned that I noticed him taking notes during the sermon. I asked if he would kindly share them with me. I suggested he could e-mail them after he downloaded them at home.

He immediately bowed his head and, looking at his shoes, shamefully confessed that he was playing a game on his new phone with the sound muted. Noting his obvious sense of shame, I simply said, “Oh,” and changed the subject. I inquired as to how he was doing at school. We had a pleasant chat and parted with a smile a firm hand shake.

The following Sunday I again noted the same behavior from this young man. This time for some reason I did not get to greet him after service before he left with his family.

But, when I got home and checked my e-mails, I found one from him. Attached to his email was a lengthy epistle of the morning’s sermon. I was astounded as I read it. The caliber of its content, its thoroughness and completeness was quite impressive. The words revealed a detailed and thoughtful assimilation of the spirit of the sermon. I was deeply moved by how well he was able to grasp even the subtleties of the sermon’s content as well as his perspective on its application to his life.

I wrote him a glowing thank you e-mail and praised him for his willingness to share his notes with me. I noted how impressed I was at the thoughtful perspective he had and his ability to assimilate the sermon.

Turning Point

I am grateful that my first negative impression was quickly supplanted by a positive one. This simple and instant about face positioned me to guide our ensuing conversation to turn a negative to a positive result. It is amazing how catching someone doing something right and acknowledging it can prove to be a positive influence on someone. It is much more enjoyable to praise than to critique. (Refer to “simple Words -Powerful Turning Points” post)

Turning point lesson: look for the positive to turn a negative to your advantage.

God Taught Him

In the early 1980’s we opened a congregation of our church in Linda Vista, a community in San Diego, California. It was comprised largely of Southeast Asian refugees from the Hmong tribes of Laos and Vietnam. These souls became members of our small mission church in Mira Mesa that met in a pre-school. With over 200 refugees attending services in our little mission, moving to larger quarters was mandatory. The presence of our Asian members presented a rare opportunity to not only teach them the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but also to help them assimilate into the American way of life.

One family of the Cha family clan had four girls but no boys. For a Hmong family this was not desirable because girls left the family when they were married. The boys on the other hand remained and provided a source of support when the parents became aged. When Mrs. Cha gave birth to her fifth child, it was a boy. The event prompted a great celebration. As their minister, I visited the family to share in their joy of the birth of their first boy.

During my visit and through interpretation by her eldest daughter, Mrs. Cha explained to me that since her new baby was a boy, she would no longer be able to attend church services for a long time. I learned as our conversation continued that Mrs. Cha felt that with her girls she had control over their behavior. Hence, the girls were quiet in church during the sermon. Now with a boy, she felt such control was not even possible. Boys were much more unruly and noisy and so she wouldn’t be able to bring him to church until he learned to listen to her.

I carefully explained that it was important for her to bring her baby boy to church where God would bless him and teach him. But Mrs. Cha answered saying that her baby didn’t understand Hmong or English so how would God be able to teach him?

I explained that God would teach her little boy not through language but by His Holy Spirit. This seemed to make sense to her and Mrs. Cha accepted it in faith. She agreed to take her son to church.

Over the next nine to ten months Ms. Cha, her children and husband faithfully attended services in our church. Her boy grew strong and before he was a year old he was walking. As with most little boys he was very active but tended to stay quiet during services.

On one Sunday morning when this little boy was about eleven months old, our Bishop from Los Angeles visited San Diego and the members from our six congregations in the area came together at one of our larger churches.

The church family packed chapel with not an empty seat to be found. In fact, a row of folding chairs were lined along the back wall of the church to accommodate the large crowd.

The organist began to play and the congregation stood to sing the opening hymn. I followed the bishop and other ministers and walked up the center aisle to take our places at the front of the church. After a short personal prayer, I opened my hymn book and began to sing along with the congregation. As I sang I surveyed the crowded church. To my great concern, I saw that Mrs. Cha, her four girls and her little boy, were seated in the second row of pews. I instantly began to worry that the little boy would soon be acting up and become a distraction during the sermon.

For most of the sermon, to my great relief, the little boy was well behaved, sitting on his mother’s lap. But then my greatest fear became a reality. The lad stood up in his mother’s lap and began to jump up and down. I watched as Mrs. Cha struggled to quiet her boy but to no avail. Suddenly she reached into her pocket and extracted a 25 cent coin and gave it to her boy. I surmised that she did this in hopes that his fascination with it would cause him to sit down in her lap and quietly play with it.

The boy, his eyes open wide, stared intently at the coin. His mind seemed to be momentarily transfixed on this unexpected treasure. Quickly, coin in hand and broadly smiling, he wriggled off his mother’s lap in pursuit of his own personal mission. To my surprise and well as his mother’s, he weaseled his way past his sisters till he reached the center aisle. A momentary glance between Mrs. Cha and me revealed her dismay couched in a weak smile.

Once into the aisle, the little guy made a beeline down the aisle and abruptly stopped at the offering box that sat upon a pedestal at the last pew. As I observed his journey, I secretly hoped that his father, sitting on one of the folding chairs along the back wall, would see his son and scoop him up and take him on his lap.

The boy stood before the offering box for a brief moment. Then he turned and reached as high as he could to put the coin into the slot on top of the offering box. The whole church heard the loud clangs created by his tapping the coin on the side of the offering box as high up as his reach allowed. He was simply too short to reach the slot in the top of the box.

Now his father jumped into action. He rose from his chair, quickly ran to his son and lifted him by his legs high enough to allow him to reach the slot and drop the coin into it. When his father put the boy down and before he could react further, the lad twisted out of his father’s grasp and raced back up the aisle, wriggling past his sisters and into his mother’s lap. There he sat, a big grin on his face, his pride over his accomplishment beaming from his face.

After the service was over, I spoke with Mrs. Cha and asked her, “Who taught your son to offer that coin?”

She replied, “I wasn’t me, because he does not understand Hmong. It wasn’t you, because he doesn’t understand English. It was God, just like you said, God would teach him by His Spirit!”

Turning Points

The acts of God in our life have profound implication in the lives of those He chooses us to serve. He subtly puts words in our mouth that become turning points in our understanding of His ways and in the lives of others. These turning points change not only the course of our lives, but also the understanding and faith we have for God. I find that faith and trust in Him are deepened and a grateful heart and mind are created. This experience with Mrs. Cha and her baby boy illustrated how the Word of God can have a powerful impact on the life of even a mere child. Further, I see how the faith of a mother can produce a lasting blessing on her children. We can’t underestimate what God can and will do for those who love Him.

The Bird’s Funeral

As our son Randy was growing up, we taught him to pray at meal times. I would pray and then he would pray. We prayed not only offering thanksgiving for the food but also asking for a blessing upon it followed by a plea for those we knew who faced some difficult situations. On Sundays and Wednesday evenings Randy accompanied us to church where I served as a lay minister. He witnessed me serving and experienced our family serving others. When visitors came to our church services, we had them come to our home for a meal and conversation. So this story about Randy was not a real surprise to us considering his being raised in a home where a culture of serving others existed.

An only child, Randy found it necessary to make friends with all the children in the neighborhood. He mastered the art of building friendships evidenced by the respect his friends showed him. They saw Randy was their leader. Often when we came home from a brief trip, a half a dozen or more youngsters were sitting on the curb in front of our house waiting for Randy to return. He was the one to lead them on their daily adventures. He was very successful at it because they all kept coming back for more.

One Saturday morning I went out into our backyard prior to our planned shopping trip. I discovered a dead bird lying on the patio floor just below our large picture window. The bird had apparently flown into the window and broke its neck. Not wanting to delay our departure, I didn’t mention my discovery to Randy until we got home.
Returning later that morning from our shopping, I parked our car into the driveway. When we exited the car we were greeted with a united chorus from the assembled crowd of children at the curb, “Can Randy come out to play?”
With the news of the dead bird, Randy rounded up his friends and immediately made a bee line for the back yard patio.

Carol and I emptied the car of the morning purchases and I promptly left again as I had another errand to run. I didn’t discover what happened with the deceased bird until I returned home a few hours later. Then Carol told me the rest of the story as she filled me in on what transpired.

When Randy and his friends found the dead bird, he immediately hatched a plan. Randy asked his mother if she had a small box. As it turned out we had a small rectangular wooden box from a block of cheese we had previously purchased. Carol was saving it for some undefined use, so she thought this was as good a use as any.

Randy now needed some linen and cotton to line the box. Carol supplied these by giving him an old handkerchief of mine and some cotton balls. Randy organized a team effort with his friends to fashion a coffin from these materials. They lined the box with the handkerchief and cushioned it with the cotton.

Once finished, the bird was gently laid in the makeshift casket. They placed the open casket in Randy’s little red wagon. The lid to the box was laid next to it. Randy now asked the girls to pick some flowers from the garden to decorate the casket and wagon. A potpourri of flowers was laid in the wagon surrounding the casket. The funeral procession was now ready to begin.

The entourage of mourners marched around the neighborhood in single file. Randy pulled the wagon with the line of children following in single file, all heads bowed in serious sadness and silent dirge. For the neighbors, it must have been quite a sight with the parade of solemn little four to six year old children following a red wagon filled with flowers surrounding an open casket.

After circuiting the neighborhood the procession returned to our backyard. Randy retrieved a small shovel from our shed and found a place in Carol’s flower garden to dig the grave. The dirt in our yard was not conducive to easy digging as it was made mostly of clay and rocks with only a six inch covering of topsoil. Randy began earnestly to dig, but once he hit the clay, the effort to dig deeper became significantly difficult. When he got to about twelve inches deep it got so difficult Randy was prompted to consult with his mother once again.

“Mom,” he said, “does the grave really have to be six feet deep?”

Carol replied, “Randy, for the bird it only has to be twelve inches deep.”

Dilemma solved, the grave was now ready to receive its occupant. But one more thing needed to be done. Randy asked his mother for the family Bible.

The funeral scene was now fully prepared and ready. Randy, holding the Bible in his hands, presented to the assembled congregation of friends a brief funeral sermon and eulogy for the bird. After a short but heartfelt prayer, he placed the lid on the box and secured it. Gently laying the casket into the grave, the children took turns throwing dirt into the grave.

With the grave covered and strewn with flowers, the kids went out to the front of the house to continue their play.

Soon Randy’s friend Tommy came home. He was out with his parents and missed the whole funeral and burial experience. All of Randy’s pals excitedly told Tommy in great detail the funeral they had for the dead bird. Filled with shock and disappointment, Tommy immediately began to cry and sob uncontrollably. He stood shaking with tears flowing down his cheeks. It was just too much to have missed for this six year old lad.

Randy couldn’t bear to see his good friend Tommy so distraught. He put his arm around Tommy and calmly assured him, “Don’t cry Tommy, we’ll do the funeral all over again!”

So out came the wagon and shovel and the bird’s casket was carefully exhumed. Placed in the wagon with the flowers the process in its entirety was repeated for Tommy’s benefit. That little bird was blessed with not one but two funerals!

Turning Points

What touched me about this experience was Randy’s compassion and sensitivity to Tommy’s feelings. His immediate resolution of the situation was impressive. He obviously learned a lot of details from witnessing funerals that I had conducted. Randy’s love of animals prompted him to provide a dignified burial for this dead stranger that lost its life in our yard. Randy’s character, his sensitivity to the feelings of others, knowing he could make a difference, and respecting life of the animals he loved would serve him well throughout his life.

A turning point for me was a deeper realization that how parents live and act has a powerful and effective influence on the character of their children. As the old adage states, “actions speak louder than words.” A parent may not realize it at the moment, but their conduct is a significant factor in the life of their children.

Precise Positioning

It was a beautiful Sunday morning in San Diego. Carol and I journeyed north to attend morning service at our church in Vista, California. After service we visited with our fellow members and then left for home. On the way we planned our afternoon.

After a light lunch at home, Carol would visit her 94 year old mother, Clara. Clara was at a rehabilitation facility recovering from a number of falls that required a short stay in the hospital followed by rehabilitation. My agenda was to make a visit to church members living in Lakeside about twenty miles east of our home. This couple had experienced some illness and had not been able to come to church for a few weeks. My visit had a twofold purpose. My first priority was a pastoral visit to my friends in hopes of offering some encouragement and share some of the treasures gleaned from the morning sermon. My secondary purpose was to accept my friend’s offer to loan me one of her husband’s walkers for my mother-in-law. We expected Clara would be leaving rehab soon and needed a walker until she could get her strength back.

After our lunch, Carol left to visit her mother and I headed off to Lakeside.

Carol’s visit went well. She was able to share some nuggets from the morning service that lifted Clara’s spirits. Carol left after her visit to do some shopping at a mall near the rehab center.

Meanwhile, I made my journey east to visit our friends. The three of us enjoyed a pleasant conversation sharing thoughts inspired by the morning’s church service. Following our conversation, I viewed the collection of available walkers. I picked out two and after our goodbyes, I loaded them into my car and headed home.

I was about a third of the way home when my phone rang. It was Carol. She had just received a call from the rehab center that Clara fell and they were hailing an ambulance to take her to the hospital emergency room. Although Clara did not sustain any noticeable injury, hospital protocol required her to go to emergency. I told Carol I was on my way home and would divert my course to the hospital and meet them there.

I immediately prayed. Firstly I thanked God that Clara was not seriously hurt. Then, with a disappointed feeling, questioned Him as to why it had to happen yet again! No sooner did these questioning words escape my lips when another thought forcefully gripped my mind. Its expression came in the words, “Okay Lord, I know you must have something big and important planned for this to happen again. I don’t know what You have up Your sleeve, but I just want You to know I am going to be keeping my eyes wide open for whatever You have in store. Just give me skill to listen for the whisper of Your Spirit when He is guided somewhere to fulfill Your purpose and hope in me.”

About twenty minutes later I arrived at the hospital emergency parking area and parked my car. I exited the car just as the ambulance carrying Carol and Clara arrived. The back door of the ambulance opened and Carol came out followed by the gurney carrying Clara. Clara was wheeled by the EMT’s into the emergency room with Carol and me right behind.

Upon entering the emergency room we found it to be jammed packed. Not a single cubicle was available. Doctors and nurses were busy attending the overloaded facility. Amidst the beehive of activity, Clara was transferred onto a hospital gurney, quickly examined and assessed as not critical. Her gurney was placed against the wall in the hallway. A folding chair was provided for Carol at the foot of Clara’s gurney. I stood in a one foot square space next to Carol against the wall. This was the only possible place for me to stand. Six inches either way I would be blocking the busy corridor to my right or access to a constantly opening and closing door just behind me. I stood there for about fifteen minutes.

Suddenly a young lady came up to me, looked into my eyes and asked, “Evangelist Musterer?”

I replied, “Yes.”

She said pointing, “If you look over there, just through the small crack in that curtain, you will see my mother. She was with you in church this morning. When she came home, she couldn’t breathe and we had to call for an ambulance to bring her here to emergency. She has been here for a while and when she looked up through the little crack in the curtain she saw you. Will you please come and pray with her after the doctor leaves her cubicle?”

“Of course,” I said, “I will be honored to pray with her!”

She quickly returned to her mother and I quietly prayed and thanked God for giving me this blessing, to be a blessing for my friend in her time of need. I marveled at the extraordinary length God went to engineering this meeting and to serve someone in need. I realized that I was standing in the one and only square foot of that hospital where I was visible to our sister in faith. I stood in absolute awe of the love of God for those who love Him and the meticulous means He uses to affect His blessings on those in need.

I watched intently until I saw the doctor leave my friend’s cubicle and made my way to visit her. I smiled and shared with her what God had done in making it possible for me to be there for her. I prayed with her, thanking God for His awesome act of love and asked for His continued blessing for her health. I offered her some words of encouragement and assured her that I would contact her priest and advise him of her situation.

I returned to my “station” and called the priest from our Vista congregation who had been out of town that day. I filled him in on what had just happened and he immediately made plans for a hospital visit to my friend.

After a short stay in the hospital, she was able to regain her strength and health and returned home. Clara was sent back to rehab after all her tests proved normal. She had no injury of any kind! All day I thought of this experience and how God was able to get my attention to do something to fulfill His purpose.

Turning Points

This experience reinforces the principles of Solomon’s recipe – Trust, look past understanding, in all things acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. When the fourth part can become reality – and He will direct your paths – you experience profound events such as this one. In reflecting on my prayer when I discovered Clara had fallen again, I noted that thanksgiving came first, then acknowledgement, then the preparation for the anticipated guidance – another turning point for me.

The Answer to a Question

I was serving as minister for one of our congregations when a young married couple asked me to pay them a pastoral visit. They were experiencing some difficulties and wanted me to counsel them. We made plans for a visit the following week.

As the days passed by, I became more and more concerned as to what I would be able to contribute to the situations with which they were wrestling. Furthermore, they did not give me any clues as to the nature of their concerns. Speculation circled in my thoughts. I resorted to prayerful deliberations with God, asking Him for guidance so He could use me to help them get over whatever it was that troubled them.

When the day arrived I drove to the couple’s home. I sat in my parked car in front of their house, offering up one last prayer hoping to get the butterflies out of my stomach. I felt so inadequate and wondered why they thought I could help them. I hoped that they were seeking help from God and not from me.

I finished my praying and approached the front door and knocked. I was welcomed in and we greeted one another with some introductory conversation. When we entered their living room a sense of confidence came over me. The husband sat down in one chair, the wife on a sofa and I took my place in a chair. I sensed some distance had grown between them.

I told them how I would like to engage our discussion.

I said, “The way I like to proceed is to first pray together because we want God to be not only a part of our discussion, but an active participant. We need His guidance because His solution will be the most successful. After we pray, I would like each of you in turn to share your perspective of the issues and concerns and then I will work to bring God’s perspective to the discussion. We will end with a prayer of thanksgiving.”

We all agreed, but then I said something that really caused me deep concern.
I said, “Whatever the outcome of our discussion, the success or failure will depend on the answer to one question.”

My thoughts were racing in my head. I wondered – What was that all about? What was the question? And more critically, what was the answer? Now I was really ill at ease and any sense of confidence fled my being.

I began by asking the wife to first share her views of the issues from her perspective. Very articulately she expressed her feelings.

When she finished I asked her husband to share his.

As he finished, he leaned forward to the edge of his chair and almost screamed, “What is the question?”

Now I really began to sweat. I didn’t know the question nor did I know the answer! All through the discussion I was thoughtfully praying and asking God the same thing, “What is the question? And what is the answer?”

There was pause of silence that seemed to me to last forever.

Then I suddenly uttered, “The question is: Do you believe it was God who brought you two together? and if you can honestly answer YES, then there is no situation or difficulty that can tear you apart. But if the answer is NO, then some very small and insignificant issue can bring the end to this marriage.”

No sooner were these words out of my mouth when the couple in spontaneous unison proclaimed, “We believe God brought us together!”

The issue that brought us together that night melted away. Peace returned to this couple that evening. I told them of my personal concerns and confessed that I had no idea what the question was until it flowed across my lips.

We celebrated God’s gracious gift for them and offered a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to our God. I left them with a profound sense of gratitude for the answer to my prayers.

Turning Point

It must be God’s plan to maximize the efficacy of the experiences we have with Him. When we are willing servants in His hand, we can see wonders in how He works blessings for those who believe and trust in Him. His guidance sometimes requires us to be ill at ease, uncomfortable in a place of unknowns. But these only magnify the awesome effect of His love for us. It makes the experience memorable and valued. I am sure His hope is that we will share it with others and further multiply the joy of His handiwork. I believe that when we are in our greatest discomfort, God is at His best! The life of Jesus is a testimony of the Father’s mastery at times of human distress.