Friends With Tow Ropes

I’ve been over some pretty rugged terrain on life’s road recently. At times it seemed like there were more potholes than pavement on my road. Some of those potholes felt like gigantic craters and I found myself stuck in them, unable to move forward. It’s a good thing I have friends who show up when I need them; tow ropes at the ready.
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Ears to Hear

Not long ago I was working on my laptop, and I had the strangest thought. It’s been a long time since I did a full backup of my data. I’d better do that. I know I should do regular backups, but it’s something I often don’t think about until after the computer is shut down for the night. So it had been several months since my last one. I responded to the nudge and backed up all my critical data.
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Serving Cheerfully

By Virginia Smith

I am not fond of housework. I know some people love it, but to me, washing dishes is torture, laundry is capital punishment and the vacuum cleaner is something to be avoided at all costs. So I was shocked when an unwelcome idea came to mind one day as I prayed for my friend Judy, who was recovering from a prolonged illness. You should volunteer to clean her house. I tried to dismiss it, to laugh it off as a rogue thought from an overactive imagination. But no matter how much I disliked the idea, I knew that spiritual nudge of rightness had to be from the Lord. Reluctantly but obediently, I called Judy and made the offer.

The next day, armed with rubber gloves and Lemon Pledge, I arrived for my dreaded act of service. “Lord,” I prayed as I got out of the car, “I’m doing this because I love Judy and I love You. Please help me do it cheerfully.” Then I plastered a smile on my face and went inside.

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Creating Opportunities

By Virginia Smith

I collect Christian tee shirts. Some of them have catchy phrases like, “Know Jesus Know Peace—No Jesus No Peace.” One has a big smiley face with the caption “Psalm 92:4.” And one of my favorites displays those universally recognized letters, “WWJD.”

I was wearing that shirt on the London tube during a trip with my mother. We had remarked earlier that everyone in London seemed to wear nothing but black, especially the young people. So I stood out in my white tee shirt with those letters embroidered in shiny gold thread across my chest. In fact, one black-clad young man wearing more jewelry on his face than I had packed for my entire vacation caught me in a direct gaze across the aisle and nodded at my shirt.

“You one of those religious nuts?” he asked.

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Ears To Hear

By Virginia Smith

Not long ago I was working on my laptop, and I had the strangest thought. It’s been a long time since I did a full backup of my data. I’d better do that. I know I should do regular backups, but it’s something I often don’t think about until after the computer is shut down for the night. So it had been several months since my last one. I responded to the nudge and backed up all my critical data.

Three days later while I was working, I heard a sizzle and pop and my laptop died. Gone. Unrecoverable. My first thought was, Thank you, Lord! I have a backup.

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