Jared and Frank at Jared's Award Ceremony
A whirlwind of thoughts come to you today so I'm not exactly sure where to start. I mentioned in a previous post that I would be writing this one someday. Considering the Bible study I'm doing on James right now, it seems a very appropriate time to write it. The house is on pause right now while we try to work through some things and gain a clearer plan.
Almost 7 years ago, we lost our home and van in a bankruptcy. It's a long story but suffice it to say it was a terribly hard time in our lives that left us questioning EVERYTHING. We ended up living 2 hours from home with a brand new baby, as well. Though I can tell you story after story of God's faithful direction and provision in the midst, the storm still left us tattered. One thing that we started to do was go to the weekly free dinners at a nearby church.
Making the decision to go and actually following through only came out of desperation and not desire. I argued with God that we weren't one of "those" people. My whining fell on deaf ears. When I look back on that I am ashamed that I thought that. If you had asked me if I stereo typed people I would have denied it, but in that statement a mirror was held up and I saw myself for the way I was. I didn't know any of "those" people, I'd never even seen any of "those" people and already I had decided I wasn't like "them".
What we found at those dinners is a community of people. They had lives like us. They had dreams like us. They had hurts and disappointments like us. They had needs like us. They had stories like us. What I learned at those dinners is that: Praise God, I am one of "those" people that He loves. I think, too often, that as American Christians we get this idea that somehow God's favor rests on the prosperous and that those who have not must have done something to deserve it. What we don't realize in that thinking is that it removes God's mercy believing that we can deserve good or bad based on our actions. We even do Christmas programs about reaching out to the poor people and showing them Jesus so He can "fix" them. It never occurs to us that maybe we can learn something from them. Maybe they are the ones who have a deeper faith than we do because they have NO hope outside of Christ.
I have seen and been the recipient of gifts from the people at the dinners simply because they saw a need and understood it so they did what they could to help. They gave deeply sometimes out of their own need because they know what it is to be in need. They talk about praying and receiving an answer, too. That's not to say that there are not those who need Jesus but we as a culture need to catch ourselves and realize Jesus doesn't necessarily "fix" the poor and if they have not it isn't necessarily because of some great sin in their life. Maybe it's just the place God has them in right now to grow their faith even stronger. And maybe we should open our ears and learn from them sometimes. James 2: 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? This is not something we like to think about because it means we are not in control. It means our formulas that say do this and this to earn this don't always work. This is a tough challenge but if you have the courage to read all of James, I think you will find truths in there that will rock your world. It did mine and it continues to but I am not sorry. I am grateful that God loves us so much he doesn't allow us to become mediocre and apathetic.
I will end by telling you a story that is very dear to my heart and I probably won't finish writing without tears pouring down my cheeks, which will be quite embarrassing here in the library but it is a story that needs to be told.
One of the days at a free dinner we found ourselves sitting across the table from an older gentleman. The first thing most people would notice about him was his wheelchair and his missing leg. His white hair was long and disheveled. His clothes though clean were not crisp or pretty. He had blue eyes that never really looked at you and a bushy white beard. With him was a young man with tattoos and sagging pants. If most of us saw them on the street we might even put ourselves between them and our children. We would probably avoid looking them in the eye and try very hard not to stare at the yellow paper smiley face on the end of the stub where a leg should be. But here we were sitting across from them at the table and about to eat a meal together.
We introduced ourselves and learned his name was Frank. Frank asked if any of the kids liked to draw. I was ready to answer for my kids that they really weren't into drawing much, when Jared said, "I do! But I'm not very good at it." I had never known this about my own son, until I learned it from Frank. Frank's eyes lit up and a smile crossed his lips revealing perfectly straight white teeth as he reached into a dirty old satchel and pulled out a brown marker. He started to ask the kids questions about what a tree looked like. He spoke in details that I'd never considered. As he talked he drew lines on the plastic tablecloth. He talked about what a tree looks like in winter as opposed to summer. He talked about what direction the sun would shine and how the snow would settle on the branches. He had us all mesmerized as his marker moved gracefully over the once white plastic tablecloth.
Then he said that we needed some sky and he pulled out a blue marker. With just a few scribbles he transformed those brown squiggles on a white tablecloth into a silhouette of a tree on a bright sunny day with fresh snow all around. Jared was amazed and so were the rest of us. We tore that masterpiece off the table and Frank signed it. We took it home and put it in a frame.
At another dinner we saw him again. This time he brought some paper and he took Jared under his wing. They ate together almost every meal as Frank instructed, guided and encouraged the hidden gifts of a young boy. Not long after we met him as we were leaving a dinner Jared gave Frank a great big hug. I could see Frank's face as the shock was quickly replaced with puddles in his eyes. I had to get in the van quickly so no one would see the puddles forming in my own eyes. It occurred to me that most people probably don't give Frank a glance let alone a hug. I was so happy to see my son break through that and just see his friend and mentor who deserved a hug.
A friendship grew between our family and Frank. He came over for Bible studies and a few dinners. He sometimes picked up Jared and they would go look at the trees. His stories of faith were incredible and encouraging. Josh started a website to try to help him sell his art. Over the years I'm really not sure who has gained the greater gift Frank or Jared. Jared went on to receive The Golden Paintbrush Award in his art class for being the outstanding freshman artist at his school, as well as being honored as a Gifted Artist. He had a friend to talk to at a time when our own lives were so chaotic it was hard to give him that ear. He even became more confident and able to sit still better, in order to focus on his school work.
Even since we moved away, Frank has come to visit us a couple times, so far. I look forward to the day we can get our house more welcoming to his wheelchair so he can come visit even when it is too cold to sit on the porch. Although, Jared recently told me that they had to take off the other leg, so driving here might be tricky for awhile. There is some talk about him being able to possibly get two prosthesis so maybe it will be possible again. All I know is that God took us low and at the bottom of the pit, we found a priceless treasure. A treasure that we would have missed had He agreed with me and kept us from being one of "those" people.
Do not be discouraged, even if you are at the bottom of the pit. Maybe you are the priceless treasure that simply hasn't been dug up yet.
And do not be afraid to get a little dirty and dig. You never know the treasures you may find.
Many Blessings,
Misty Sunshine
Almost 7 years ago, we lost our home and van in a bankruptcy. It's a long story but suffice it to say it was a terribly hard time in our lives that left us questioning EVERYTHING. We ended up living 2 hours from home with a brand new baby, as well. Though I can tell you story after story of God's faithful direction and provision in the midst, the storm still left us tattered. One thing that we started to do was go to the weekly free dinners at a nearby church.
Making the decision to go and actually following through only came out of desperation and not desire. I argued with God that we weren't one of "those" people. My whining fell on deaf ears. When I look back on that I am ashamed that I thought that. If you had asked me if I stereo typed people I would have denied it, but in that statement a mirror was held up and I saw myself for the way I was. I didn't know any of "those" people, I'd never even seen any of "those" people and already I had decided I wasn't like "them".
What we found at those dinners is a community of people. They had lives like us. They had dreams like us. They had hurts and disappointments like us. They had needs like us. They had stories like us. What I learned at those dinners is that: Praise God, I am one of "those" people that He loves. I think, too often, that as American Christians we get this idea that somehow God's favor rests on the prosperous and that those who have not must have done something to deserve it. What we don't realize in that thinking is that it removes God's mercy believing that we can deserve good or bad based on our actions. We even do Christmas programs about reaching out to the poor people and showing them Jesus so He can "fix" them. It never occurs to us that maybe we can learn something from them. Maybe they are the ones who have a deeper faith than we do because they have NO hope outside of Christ.
I have seen and been the recipient of gifts from the people at the dinners simply because they saw a need and understood it so they did what they could to help. They gave deeply sometimes out of their own need because they know what it is to be in need. They talk about praying and receiving an answer, too. That's not to say that there are not those who need Jesus but we as a culture need to catch ourselves and realize Jesus doesn't necessarily "fix" the poor and if they have not it isn't necessarily because of some great sin in their life. Maybe it's just the place God has them in right now to grow their faith even stronger. And maybe we should open our ears and learn from them sometimes. James 2: 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? This is not something we like to think about because it means we are not in control. It means our formulas that say do this and this to earn this don't always work. This is a tough challenge but if you have the courage to read all of James, I think you will find truths in there that will rock your world. It did mine and it continues to but I am not sorry. I am grateful that God loves us so much he doesn't allow us to become mediocre and apathetic.
I will end by telling you a story that is very dear to my heart and I probably won't finish writing without tears pouring down my cheeks, which will be quite embarrassing here in the library but it is a story that needs to be told.
One of the days at a free dinner we found ourselves sitting across the table from an older gentleman. The first thing most people would notice about him was his wheelchair and his missing leg. His white hair was long and disheveled. His clothes though clean were not crisp or pretty. He had blue eyes that never really looked at you and a bushy white beard. With him was a young man with tattoos and sagging pants. If most of us saw them on the street we might even put ourselves between them and our children. We would probably avoid looking them in the eye and try very hard not to stare at the yellow paper smiley face on the end of the stub where a leg should be. But here we were sitting across from them at the table and about to eat a meal together.
We introduced ourselves and learned his name was Frank. Frank asked if any of the kids liked to draw. I was ready to answer for my kids that they really weren't into drawing much, when Jared said, "I do! But I'm not very good at it." I had never known this about my own son, until I learned it from Frank. Frank's eyes lit up and a smile crossed his lips revealing perfectly straight white teeth as he reached into a dirty old satchel and pulled out a brown marker. He started to ask the kids questions about what a tree looked like. He spoke in details that I'd never considered. As he talked he drew lines on the plastic tablecloth. He talked about what a tree looks like in winter as opposed to summer. He talked about what direction the sun would shine and how the snow would settle on the branches. He had us all mesmerized as his marker moved gracefully over the once white plastic tablecloth.
Then he said that we needed some sky and he pulled out a blue marker. With just a few scribbles he transformed those brown squiggles on a white tablecloth into a silhouette of a tree on a bright sunny day with fresh snow all around. Jared was amazed and so were the rest of us. We tore that masterpiece off the table and Frank signed it. We took it home and put it in a frame.
At another dinner we saw him again. This time he brought some paper and he took Jared under his wing. They ate together almost every meal as Frank instructed, guided and encouraged the hidden gifts of a young boy. Not long after we met him as we were leaving a dinner Jared gave Frank a great big hug. I could see Frank's face as the shock was quickly replaced with puddles in his eyes. I had to get in the van quickly so no one would see the puddles forming in my own eyes. It occurred to me that most people probably don't give Frank a glance let alone a hug. I was so happy to see my son break through that and just see his friend and mentor who deserved a hug.
A friendship grew between our family and Frank. He came over for Bible studies and a few dinners. He sometimes picked up Jared and they would go look at the trees. His stories of faith were incredible and encouraging. Josh started a website to try to help him sell his art. Over the years I'm really not sure who has gained the greater gift Frank or Jared. Jared went on to receive The Golden Paintbrush Award in his art class for being the outstanding freshman artist at his school, as well as being honored as a Gifted Artist. He had a friend to talk to at a time when our own lives were so chaotic it was hard to give him that ear. He even became more confident and able to sit still better, in order to focus on his school work.
Even since we moved away, Frank has come to visit us a couple times, so far. I look forward to the day we can get our house more welcoming to his wheelchair so he can come visit even when it is too cold to sit on the porch. Although, Jared recently told me that they had to take off the other leg, so driving here might be tricky for awhile. There is some talk about him being able to possibly get two prosthesis so maybe it will be possible again. All I know is that God took us low and at the bottom of the pit, we found a priceless treasure. A treasure that we would have missed had He agreed with me and kept us from being one of "those" people.
Do not be discouraged, even if you are at the bottom of the pit. Maybe you are the priceless treasure that simply hasn't been dug up yet.
And do not be afraid to get a little dirty and dig. You never know the treasures you may find.
Many Blessings,
Misty Sunshine
 Click on this picture to go to Frank's website created by Josh. There is more art there. |  This song goes along with what I've written quite well. |
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