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by J. J. Olsen

One morning, with sleep in my eyes, I headed toward my favorite little coffee stand. Jake (my dog) and I are regulars, and Jake always gets excited when we pull up because he knows he’s going to get a couple of Milk Bones. As I waited for my coffee, I saw something that made me tear up a bit. I’m doing a lot of that lately; there must be a lot of pollen or dirt in the air … or something.

Just ahead of me an old couple, probably in their 70s or 80s, pulled into a parking stall. I watched as the little old man slowly got out of the car, opened the trunk and pulled out a wheelchair. He folded the chair into the sitting position and wheeled it to the passenger’s side of the car, where he carefully and lovingly helped his beautiful little wife out of the car and into the chair.

It was cold out this morning, and the fog was still lifting, so the old man reached into the back seat and grabbed a knitted blanket and tucked it around her shoulders. As he wheeled her away, I watched as he leaned down and gently kissed her on the cheek. As if it was the first kiss of their life together, she smiled, leaned into him, put her arm around his neck and hugged him tightly. As they walked off together, I was moved to my core.

As I watched I couldn’t help but think of all the stories those two must share. Stories of young love, country roads and an old Chevrolet, a white wedding, the birth of their first child, the day he went off to war and the day he came home. How many moments of laughter have they shared? How many silent glances across a room? How many tears?

People often ask me if I believe is the concept of “soulmates.” They wonder if love exists in the real world like it does in the movies. My answer is yes. Why? Because I see that kind of love extended to me by God. Scripture tells me that real love overcomes, real love gives, real love hopes and that real love is selfless (1 Corinthians 13). Two people who decide to receive the love of their God and then extend it to each other have the capacity to love more passionately and more extravagantly than any movie ever made.

Love exists in moments. Moments like today when that old man kissed his wife, moments when we choose another over ourselves. I’m beginning to believe in love again, and today, in that moment, through the love of two old souls, God showed me that He still loves me.

Prayer

A couple of days ago I was visiting a very close friend of mine at his home. After supper, his 4 year old daughter ran towards me and handed me a peice of white paper and smiling, she said,
"Mark look!"
On the peice of paper, she had painted a green triangle, and a brown square. A picture that she had painted herself, in pre-school the week before.

After she handed me the picture, I smiled big and said, "Wow, did you paint this!"

After looking at the painting, content and pleased,
Hannah said proudly, "Yep."


It reminded me of something I read in a book, that said.

"Pray as you can; don't pray as you can't."

Let us suppose you give your three-year-old daughter a coloring book and a box of crayons for her birthday. The following day, with the proud smile only a little one can muster, she presents her first picture for inspection. She has colored the sun black, the grass purple, and the sky green. In the lower right hand corner, she has added woozy wonders of floating slabs and hovering rings; on the left; a panoply of colorful, carefree squiggles. You marvel at her bold strokes and intuit that her psyche is railing against its own cosmic smallness in the face of a big, ugly world. Later at the office, you share with your staff your daughter's first artistic effort and you make veiled references to the early work of van Gogh. A little child cannot do a bad coloring; nor can a child of God do a bad prayer.

Praying is an area that many struggle with because they aren't aware that in the freedom of the Spirit, there are as many ways of praying as there are individual believers.

Reference to the Book:
"the Ragamuffin Gospel"
-Brennan Manning

If God had an office, the door would ALWAYS be open for you to talk to Him.

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The Ninth Tuesday

I came to treasure the way my friend lit up when I entered the the room. Morrie did this for many people, I know, but it was his special talent to make each visitor feel that the smile was unique.

"Ahhhh, its my friend," he would say when he saw me, in that foggy, high-pitched voice. And it didn't stop with the greeting. When Morrie was with you, he was really with you. He looked you straight in the eye, and he listened as if you were the only person in the world. How much better would people get along if their first encounter each day were like this, ....instead of a grumble from a waitress or a bus driver or a boss?

"I believe in being fully present," Morrie said. "That means you should be with the person you're with. When I'm talking to you now, Mitch, I try to keep focused on what is going on between us. I am not thinking about something we said last week. I am not thinking of what's coming up this Friday. I am not thinking about doing another Koppel show, or about what medications I'm taking.

"I am talking to you. I am thinking about you."

I remembered how he used to teach this idea, back in the day. Learning to pay attention? How important could that be?

I now know it is more important than almost everything they taught us in college.

"Part of the problem, Mitch, is that everyone is in such a hurry," Morrie said. "People haven't found meaning in their lives, so they're running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job. Then they find those things are empty, too, and they keep running."

"Once you start running, I said, it's hard to slow yourself down."

A lot of us are great at small talk.

"How's it going? What have you been up to?"

But really listening to someone,..without trying to sell them something, without trying to recruit them, or get some kind of status in return....how often do we do this?

When was the last time, that we REALLY listened to someone? That you really paid attention to someone that you care about?

Book: "Tuesdays with Morrie"
- Mitch Albom



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The Soul

The SOUL is the most valuable thing in the world,..but how many of us neglect it. How many of you never even think of it....until its too late.

Jesus said there are 2 roads in life. A broad road and a narrow road. The broad road leads to destruction, and the narrow road leads to eternal life.
And you are on one or the other tonight.

You can change roads. You can choose.

One soul, is worth the whole world. You may gain the whole world, and wake up one morning to find that you’ve missed the most important thing of all,…you’ve missed getting your soul right with God.

God has made a plan to save you. To save your soul. That’s why Jesus Christ came to die on the cross and rise from the dead. You and I are sinners. We deserve death. But that’s allllll been taken care of on the cross.

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. To redeem man’s soul. A man’s soul is more important than the body, more important than money, or where we live, or the standard of living we have.

Re-evaluate your life, and turn to Him while there’s still time. Your soul is the most valuable thing you possess, and you have the power of choice.
Jesus Christ died so that you might have life…fully and completely.

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