~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTES FROM THE VALLEY - June 23, 2000 "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me." Psalm 23. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TOPIC: ROLLER COASTER LESSONS Isn't life an amazing journey? Each day brings with it new blessings to enjoy and new problems to solve. Sometimes it can seem like a real roller coaster ride filled with an endless sequence of emotional ups and downs. That's the kind of ride Cathy and I have been on lately. Our son Chris called from Germany with the wonderful news that our second granddaughter Keyanna was born. What a thrill to hear his excitement at becoming a Dad. Then, within days, Cathy's Mom, Bea, called to tell us that she has colon cancer. Last year, we went through a similar rough ride: Down when our daughter Jennifer moved out under very unpleasant circumstances. And then up again, when our first granddaughter, Harley, was born in North Carolina. Up and down. Up and down. Next year I think we'll just skip May and June!!! (Just kidding) And just like last year, after we heard from Chris and Bea, I also heard another voice with some quiet, but reassuring news. God, our loving Father, whispering a reminder that Cathy and I don't need to worry - each member of our family, from our precious granddaughters to their equally precious great grandmother, are safe within His hands. Hands that have cared for and comforted Cathy and me through every kind of trouble. Hands that healed our once broken hearts and led us to find each other across an entire continent so many years ago. Hands that taught us to love again and joined us together as husband and wife. Hands that protected Jack, Michael and Chris as they journeyed into manhood far from our protection and care. Hands that guided Jack's hands and Chris' hands as they received their newborn daughters at birth. Safe, sure, loving hands. Hands we've known and trusted. Hands we can certainly trust again. I recently listened to a sermon by Max Lucado from his Upwords tape ministry where he talked about God using drastic changes to teach us to rely more upon Him. At one point he likened life to watching television when someone else has the remote control. Just when you're getting interested in something or begin to settle in, click, the channel changes. New scene, new set of circumstances. You focus, you adjust, you begin to pick up the thread of whatever's going on. You start to get a handle on things and begin to settle in and, click, the scene changes. You start to focus, but before you even get a glimpse of what's in front of you, click, it changes again. Click. Click. Click. Frustrating even infuriating. You don't know whether to give up or get angry. Now I don't know if you believe like Max that God has His hand on the remote control and changes channels to keep us from becoming too settled and self reliant or if you lean more towards my view that change is an inherent part of life, but God holds us in the palm of His hand and can carry us victoriously through every change if we'll let Him. But in either case the message is the same. God is in control and that's where we have to place our faith. I used to have this poster in my office of a kitten dangling by it's front paws from a limb and hanging on for all it was worth. The caption read, "Faith isn't faith until it's all you're holding on to." On a roller coaster, the ride's creator knows the roughness of the ride you'll take and builds into the coaster a bar that locks in place to hold you secure throughout the entire ride. Sometimes the ride of life can be equally rough. But the creator of life, our heavenly Father, knows every height and depth, every twist and turn that life can throw at us and has given us a bar to hold onto that will keep us safe and secure throughout our journey. That bar is called faith. And each of us will come to a point at various times in our life when that is all we have to hold onto. When God whispered to me His reassurance about caring for all the members of our family, my mind flashed through pictures of every major event in my life. And in each picture I could see God's presence and sense the enormity of His gifts to me. Blessings to strengthen me through the bad times. Blessings that led me to the good times. So much love. So much grace. And those hands. Hands I could always hold onto and trust. The same hands He offers to Keianna and Bea, Harley and Jennifer, and all our children. The same hands He offers to you. We don't have many answers right now to all the events going on in our lives. So we have come to that point again on the roller coaster ride of life where we just have to grab onto the bar and hold on for all we're worth. In life, that means taking all our problems and the worries over those problems and turning them over to God through prayer. But in turning them over to Him, we have to let go of them completely. Because if we're holding onto any of them even a little, how can our hands be free to hold on to Him? While I was typing this edition, Cathy has been in the other room reading her daily devotional book. What she was reading blessed her so that she called me into the room so she could read it to me. What she read was so obviously linked to what I was writing that I knew I had to close this edition with it. The words come from Psalm 62, verses 1 and 2. "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken." We remain as always, your brother and sister in Christ, holding onto the rock, Steve and Cathy Hall A RECYCLED TRAGEDY (Author Thomas Lane Butts) An artist went to visit a dear friend. When he arrived, she was weeping. He asked why. She showed him a handkerchief of exquisite beauty that had great sentimental value, which had been ruined by a drop of indelible ink. The artist asked her to let him have the handkerchief, which he returned to her by mail several days later. When she opened the package she could hardly believe her eyes. The artist, using the inkblot as a base, had drawn on the handkerchief a design of great beauty with India ink. Now it was more beautiful and more valuable than ever. Sometimes the tragedies that break our hearts can become the basis for a more beautiful design in our lives. Be patient with the hurts over which you have no control. They may become a source of healing, help, and beauty. GOD'S BOXES OF LOVE (Contributed by Bill and Kathy Woodfill - Author Unknown) I have in my hands two boxes Which God gave me to hold He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black, And all your joys in the gold." I heeded His words, and in the two boxes Both my joys and sorrows I store But though the gold became heavier each day The black was as light as before With curiosity, I opened the black I wanted to find out why And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole Which my sorrows had fallen out by I showed the hole to God, and mused aloud, "I wonder where my sorrows could be." He smiled a gentle smile at me. "My child, they're all here with me." I asked, "God, why give me the boxes, Why the gold, and the black with the hole?" "My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings, the black is for you to let go." THE SALE (Received from Jeanarie of Heart-Prints - Author Unknown) It was advertised that the devil was going to put his tools up for sale. On the date of the sale, the tools were placed for public inspection; each tool being marked with its sale price. They were a treacherous lot of implements...Hatred, Envy, Jealousy, Deceit, Lying, Pride, and so on. Laid apart from the rest was a harmless looking tool, well worn and priced very high. "What is the name of this tool?" asked one of the purchasers, pointing to it. That is Discouragement", replied the devil. "Why have you priced it so high?" "Because it is more useful to me than the others. I can pry open and get inside a man's heart with that when I cannot get near him with my other tools. Once I get inside, I can make him do what I choose. It is badly worn because I use it on almost everyone, since very few people know that it belongs to me." I DON'T BELIEVE IN LUCK (Received from Bob Perks) "Hello. How are you?" the man asked as he turned to everyone seated. We all shook hands and made the necessary introductions. Their names were Tim and Nancy, from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Before long the four of us became instant friends. It all started when I asked him what he did for a living. He replied "Nothing." His wife immediately urged him to explain. For some reason, at that moment, I had the feeling that our meeting was meant to be. He was obviously struggling with new changes in his life, maybe a mid-life crisis, I thought. So I went into my story about losing my job and facing thoughts of suicide. I said, "I can't believe how lucky we were to have both of you sit next to us tonight." "I don't believe in luck!" he said. He then told me that he was a Commander in the Navy and recently was taken out of the one position he loved and assigned to a desk. He flew helicopters. He lead men and women in the air. "The finest." I spoke to him about discovering my true purpose in life and explained my son Keith's fight against Ewings Sarcoma, a cancer. His wife grabbed his hand and with tears in her eyes, still looking at him, she said, "Our daughter, Ashley, had Ewings Sarcoma too." My thoughts of "meant to be" were confirmed. You see, not only did we both have children who were battling cancer, but I also served in the Navy. Amazing. God was in charge of seating this evening. We talked over dinner, watched the show and then our new friends shared the rest of their story. Ashley did have Ewings Sarcoma, but then after defeating that, she developed another similar cancer within a short time. He went on to share this story with us . . . "I told you when we first met this evening that I don't believe in luck. I am a military man. A commander of helicopter pilots. I believe and trust only in what I see and know. When flying, I look at my meters, my controls, my equipment and trust what they tell me is accurate. But . . ." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "My daughter needed a bone marrow transplant. I was with her alone the evening she came close to death. I held her hand as I sat by the side of her bed, never letting go. It was in that moment . . ." he hesitated. I could see how difficult this was for him to share. "It was that evening in the hospital as I held her hand and prayed to God to save her, that . . . I swear this to be true. Remember I told you that I was trained to believe in my instruments, the true readings they provide? Well, I swear to you that as I prayed for her, I felt a third hand. It was on top of mine as sure as my wife is holding my hand now. I believe it was God. I knew then that she would survive." We sat silently. Tears mixed with nervous laughter. I was overwhelmed by their story. I said, "Tim, in my years in the Navy, I never had the desire to do this. But I'd like to hug you, Commander!" We did. We all did. Was it luck that we were seated next to this wonderful couple? Was it luck that we had so many things in common? Tim said he didn't believe in luck, and maybe he is right. Maybe our luck is truly part of a bigger plan guided by what Tim felt when he was with his daughter - God's hand. TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HANDS (Received from Seedsowers4God - Author Myra Brooks Welch) 'TWAS BATTERED and scarred, and the auctioneer Thought it scarcely worth his while To waste much time on the old violin, But held it up with a smile: 'What am I bidden, good folks," he cried, "Who'll start the bidding for me?" 'A dollar, a dollar"; then, "Two" "Only two? Two dollars, and who'll make it three? Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice; Going for three-" But no, From the room, far back, a gray-haired man Came forward and picked up the bow; Then, wiping the dust from the old violin, And tightening the loose strings, He played a melody pure and sweet As a caroling angel sings. The music ceased, and the auctioneer, With a voice that was quiet and low, Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?" And he held it up with the bow. 'A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand And who'll make it three? Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, And going, and gone," said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried, 'We do not quite understand What changed its worth." Swift came the reply: The touch of a master's hand." And many a man with life out of tune, And battered and scarred with sin, Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, Much like the old violin. A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine; A game-and he travels on. He is 'going" once, and "going" twice, He's "going" and almost "gone." But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd Never can quite understand The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought By the touch of the Master's hand. ________________________________________________ Copyright © 1998-2000 by Stephen J. Hall - Weekly letters of encouragement to Christians written by Stephen J. Hall unless otherwise indicated. Notes from the Valley and Humor from the Valley are never intended to offend anyone. They're meant only to brighten your day and encourage you along the way. Most of "notes" and "humor" are a collection of items provided to me by subscribers and friends. Credit is given to both the contributor and to the true author, where known. If you are blessed by them, please feel free to make copies and pass them along to others. If you have something you'd like to contribute to a future edition or would like to ask us a question or make a comment, please contact us at: sossteve@... ________________________________________________ Your love, God, is my song, and I'll sing it! I'm forever telling everyone how faithful you are. I'll never quit telling the story of your love - how you built the cosmos and guaranteed everything in it. Your love has always been our lives foundation, your fidelity has been the roof over our world. (Psalm 89:1-3 The Message)