Scripture
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
~John 6:37, NKJV
Quote
There is no saint without a past and no sinner without a future.
~Augustine
Once every few months I pack the old SS literature for shipping. There is a ministry here in Morgan County that uses old literature and books. As I was packing yesterday, I noticed some huge trophies in the tellers office. It set me to thinking: how many trophies has DBC won? Too many to keep up with. We cleaned out the closet just a few years ago and gave all the trophies away and now there are four of five more huge ones sitting in the way. Yesterday’s trophy is today’s trash. Some things have no enduring value and trophies are one of them.
Last Saturday, August 27th, June and I went to see my old friend Marcus Crowe. Marc is just a few months older than myself but his physical condition makes him look older. He has some kind of neurological disease that has rendered him helpless. He has been in the nursing home, Whitesburg Manor, for more than a decade. Its the same facility where Keri Beth works. Marc and I ran track together at Calhoun back in 1968-69. Marc ran cross country and distance [mile and 2 miles] while I ran cross country and middle distance [880] and 440 hurdles. Marc was an exceptional athlete while I was incredibly average, although I still hold the record for the 440 hurdles [They did away with the event, a year or two after I graduated]. Marc was an outstanding corner back in high school and could throw a javelin a country mile. I’m sure Marc could have played college football if he had sprinters speed. He went from Calhoun to Jacksonville State, all four years on a full athletic scholarship. If I remember correctly, Marc was the MVP for defense his senior year at East Limestone. I have no idea where his trophy is, it is not in his room. He has nothing other than a TV and a few clothes. I put some pictures of Marc in track uniform on the wall a few years ago but they are gone. A picture of his two daughters was on the wall at one time but Saturday the walls were bear.
I thought about Marc and the trophies, then I thought about my life without trophies. I was never the most valuable on any team, ever. I may very well have been the most non-valuable player on several teams but I was never the most valuable BUT the truth is, “no one cares,” and it is no longer important. It’s a mute point, a dead horse, totally irrelevant. Being recognized by our peers for outstanding achievement may give us a boost but that boost has a very short life span. Life goes on long after the cheering has ceased. Today Marc has poor health and no one to care for him. I’ve never seen anyone there or any evidence that they have been there.
The moral of the story is: Don’t worry about being the MVP, it is irrelevant, concentrate on making friends and building enduring relationships.
- Walmart in Hartselle threatens to close if Hartselle doesn’t go wet: let them close, we don’t need Walmart and we sure don’t need liquor. The Walton’s are liberals. They support gay rights, same sex marriage and abortion. The Walton’s take the same position as Starbucks, they don’t care what Christians think. They have already stated that closing a few stores in the Bible Belt would not hurt them.
- TRUNK-A-TREAT will be Sunday night October 30th [Lord Willing]. We will have a planning meeting Sunday evening September 11 at 5:00.
- It got pretty toasty in the office yesterday but I’m not complaining. I am praising the LORD that fall is just around the corner. We have college football this weekend. Friday and Saturday are travel days for June and I while Sunday is a travel day for Joe David and family. No deacons meeting this Sunday. We have LCBS at 9:15 and Worship at 10:15. We do have one baptism.
- This is DAY 30 on our 31 Days of Prayer. During the night, I had a dream or a thought: what we really need is a REVIVAL. Let’s focus on REVIVAL these last two Days.
- Pray for Raybon Schofield who is having surgery tomorrow.
