Devotional 9-25-15

Nature’s Jewelry Store

   

My father was in the jewelry business in north central W. Va. It was a joy to grow up in stores where I saw beautiful things every day. Pearl earrings, ruby necklaces, diamond rings and opal bracelets were something I got to look at whenever I wanted. The people who owned the stores where he worked always let me try things on if business was slow. They laid the piece I wanted to look at on a velvet pillow just as if I were a paying customer! I was five or six years old.  I could touch them and see what they looked like on me. I thought I was pretty special because I got to do that. I especially loved being in the store when all of the clocks struck the hour. Chimes, bells, and alarms joined to create a melody that was pleasing to me.

Dad repaired watches and clocks. I knew that this was a job that only a few people could do. I was proud of him. Several times a year, he, my mother, my brother and I would travel to other jewelry stores to see their friends and to see what things were selling well in other places. We went to Clarksburg, Fairmont, Buckhannon, Philippi and Spencer regularly. It was a special time for us as we renewed relationships and made new friendships. The late 50’s and early 60’s were good days. The economy was healthy, people were working and all seemed good at least in my young eyes.

Almost fifty years have come and gone. Times are different.  Work has been outsourced. Factories and plants have closed. Neighborhoods have changed.  Some people have left our state. When I walk down those same sidewalks I walked as a child, I remember where those jewelry stores were. Some have closed. Some are open. Those that have stayed in business still sell wonderful things. I find that comforting. In the midst of life’s ups and downs, people still enjoy things which look good. Appreciation for loveliness itself has not changed.  

I believe that W. Va. is one of the most gorgeous places on earth. Our rushing streams create music more melodious than any bell or chime. The amethyst and pearl blossoms of our hillsides in the spring when the dogwood and redbud bloom take our breath away every year.  The emerald colors of high summer tell us again that crops are planted and maturing.  Plants grow as they have for centuries to provide food. The rubies and topaz of autumn remind us that we have been taken care of as we prepare for winter. Finally, the cycle begins again with the diamonds we see in snow and ice.

Those jewelry stores of my childhood may be gone. The things of real value, the continuance of nature itself, last. We are cared for. Evidence of nature’s bounty is all around us, amazing to behold. All we have to do is open our eyes to see it, our ears to hear it, and our hearts to appreciate and honor it.

Rev. Dorcas Linger Conrad

Devotional 9-18-15

They Welcomed This Child

Mark 9:33-37 Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?”  But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”  Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

The summer of 1970 was one I’ll never forget.It was the only time I would take part in a summer play with my friends at Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church. Our choir directors were Carolyn and Henry McDowell. I sometimes thought of them as Beauty and the Beast, but I would never have said it aloud. I don’t remember what year they came to JM, but they had been in charge long enough for me to know that I would need to be at the practices, know my one line, and be able to sing the selections with enthusiasm and skill. I remember that my favorite anthem was “There’s a Church Within Us," and it would be during that trip that I would learn what those words meant. I came back with a renewed faith and great joy.

But my life was undergoing change as I enrolled in Marshall University. As the next four years flew by, I saw little of my church family. After graduation, when I finally decided to get back to JM, I was devastated to find that the McDowells had moved to Georgia. The little girl in me couldn’t believe that they had left. That was pretty ironic considering I had not even popped in to say hello following the wonderful summer experience they had provided, nor had I said good bye before they left. I never found the nerve to contact them; I left so much unsaid.

Forty-five years passed. One day I posted a picture of some of the cast members/friends who were in that play in1970. Who saw the posting? Carolyn McDowell. As face book friends posted comments, I took the opportunity to thank her for the love she and Henry had shared with us, the time they had invested in us, and the skills they had taught us. Others also wrote, and there was an outpouring of gratitude and love. Carolyn said her only regret was that Henry hadn’t lived long enough to read our posts. They had often wondered if they had made a difference.

Made a difference? They changed our lives. We didn’t just learn to lead a church service. We took responsibility for making worship more meaningful. We understood that we were there to glorify God . The McDowells put themselves last and welcomed each child. They helped us build a church within us and then sent us out into the world.

What about you? Who helped you in your search for the living God? Who answered your questions and kept you on the right path? Tell them today how much you appreciate them. Forty-five years is too long for anyone to wait.

Prayer: There’s a church within us, O Lord. There’s a church within us, O Lord.

Not a building, but a soul, Not a portion but a whole. There’s a church within us, O Lord.

Amen

Becky Warren

Devotional 9-11-15

Hearts a Walkin’

The role of the first time expectant father is glorious – and easy. We get to strut around, smirking and saying things like, “Yea. I’m gonna be a dad.” And woe be to the bystander who doesn’t get away in time when the ultrasound pictures come out. Our toughest task is most likely painting the nursery or a midnight run to 7-11 for a Slurpee. But…once the baby is born >> well now the race is on!

There is so much to teach our little ones. And once they start daycare and public school – so much to un-teach them. (Ha) Children are sponges. No action is ever wasted. They will learn something – good or bad!

Author Elizabeth Stone writes, “Making the decision to have a child – it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”

With that said I wonder what people think when they see my two hearts out there walking around. Do they see a heart raised in a household full of love? Do they see a heart that respects others, that gives up its seat on the bus/metro/train, that abhors litter bugs, that holds the door open for others, that is kind to animals, that loves and cherishes their mother more than any creature on the planet, that gives a ride to a stranger, that gives a dollar to someone on the street – regardless of what they think it will be used to buy, that doesn’t gossip, that keeps a secret, that values friends, that is a courteous driver, that has a positive moral compass and knows right from wrong, that believes in God, goes to church and whether or not wearing the bracket or sporting the bumper sticker WWJD – will silently ask themselves the question, what WOULD Jesus do?

Oh my how I wish the answer could be yes to all. My two hearts – my boys – our boys are young men now. Fully capable of making their own decisions. I so hope that they have taken the best and will discard the worst.  The airwaves are full of angst and hate and exclusion and certainty as to the mind of God – much of it not painting God in a very good light. Is our conscience the voice of God speaking? If the world is saying HATE THEM, EXCLUDE THEM, CAST THEM ASIDE and my heart’s conscience is saying “That doesn’t feel right.” “Who did Christ hate? Who did Christ exclude? Who did Christ cast aside?” And the answer comes back NO ONE >> well then…

Our sons are wonderful. Strong, kind, dependable, compassionate and giving. When they were little they would ask what I had wanted to be when I grew up. My answer was always the same, “Your dad.” I am so very proud of them and do truly believe that they have the power to change the world. I also believe that as God looks down from His heaven he says, “See those two? Good hearts.”

Steve Matthews

Devotional 9-4-15

Isaiah 41:13

The child, new to the world,
walked starry-eyed through the mall.
Dangers were all around.
He could have been lost,
He could have been injured,
He could have been afraid.

His father held his hand,
walking with him through the crowd.
The father did it for protection,
He held his hand to guide him,
to direct him,
to ensure his obedience.
He held the child's hand as an extension of his love.

And the son knew it.
He was loved.

Isaiah recorded God's words,
"For I, the Lord you God,
hold your right hand:
It is I who say to you,' Do not fear,
I will help you.'"

God's beloved creature,
walks starry-eyed through the world.
Dangers are all around.
He could be lost,
He could be injured.
He could be afraid.

God holds his hand,
walking with him on his journey.
God does it for protection,
God holds his hand to guide him,
to direct him,
to ensure his obedience.
God holds the son's hand as an extension of God's love.

And the son knows it.
He is loved.

Kim Matthews