Sunday, January 6, 2002
Sunday, January 6, 2002
Having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus
Christ for the glory and praise of God.
Years passed slowly and with great difficulty. Grandma Richardson was admired by
everyone in town for her courage and unwavering faith. She and her children attended
church almost every week. Then there was another knock on her door. Her older son
had been killed in another mine accident.
Grandma grew older and weaker. In the spring and summer, when the weather was
warm, she would sit on her front porch, rocking in her rocking chair, softly singing
hymns of faith that she had learned by heart. Children would gather and listen to her
tell Bible stories. Then it happened again. Another son was killed in the mine. After the
funeral Grandma Richardson was again sitting on her porch rocking in her favorite
chair, softly singing hymns of faith. One of the children who saw her sitting there asked
her, "Grandma Richardson, aren't you sad today?"
"Yes," she replied, "I am sad, very sad. It's hard to say good-bye to someone you love,
and I have had to do it three times. But," she told the children, "I have something more
than sadness inside of me." She then spoke of her faith.
"Can you give us some," one of the children asked.
"Why children," Grandma Richardson answered, "I have been giving it to you for years
now. It is knowing that God loves you and that He has made one promise that is a gift,
the most valuable gift in the world. God promised that no matter what happens, no
matter how good or bad things may be, regardless of your joy or sorrow, God will not
leave you alone."
(Philippians 1.11
NRSV)
Everyone in the small town called her Grandma Richardson. One late afternoon
Grandma Richardson looked out of her window to see a group of men on her porch. It
was a familiar sight in a coal town. She knew what had happened before the men told
her. Her husband had been killed in a mining accident.
Loving God, thank you for showing me over and over again the cycle of seedtime and
harvest that displays your presence in my life. Amen.
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