Winter Ways and Warmth

Miss Winter taught school with a cold strictness that left her students feeling frozen with fright. She especially liked to pick on a pupil named April Spring. The teacher despised the clods of mud April unknowingly tracked into the classroom; Miss Winter preferred piles of snow. Many times a day she would turn a frigid face toward little April, reprimand her, and demand a contrite response—whether she was guilty of the offense or not. But the school board knew about all of Miss Winter’s ways and fired her, replacing the teacher with Miss Summer. Not long later, April Spring wept over the sadness this situation must have caused Miss Winter; April decided to cheer up Miss Winter with a gift—daffodils! Surprisingly, her former teacher burst into tears, apologizing profusely for her past conduct. Sometimes the frosty folks in our lives simply need to be shown the warm ways of a kind heart.

The Miracle Meal

The widow gathered two sticks for a fire; she planned to prepare the final handful of meal and the little oil she had left. But God sent a prophet who asked her to take a step of faith: Would she make him a cake—first? What? In this drought she and her son had hardly any food left. But she believed the words of hope the man of God spoke, so she gave him the meager morsel. The prophecy came true: Miraculously, her meal at the bottom of the barrel lasted for many days; the oil flowed on as well; then came more showers of blessing with the falling of life-sustaining rain.

Are you staring at the bottom of your barrel, wondering what to do? We can choose to do what the widow did—we can trust and obey. Then we can watch while God makes a way!

Bridging the Breach

Her misstep caused a crack to form on the wooden floor. His sudden stomp in response added to the depth and length of what became a fissure between them. Then by turns, they jumped up and down with rage on either side of the stage. Next he danced an angry jig that increased the space, sporting a scowl on his face. She would seethe and stay facing the other way, counting to ten. That night the grisly gap remained. But in the morning, she remembered to step lightly and in the space, place a varnished board. He calmly nailed it in place, wearing a smile on his face. They concluded bridging the breach with a fist bump.

God of the Impossible

The Israelites had nowhere to go—the Red Sea ahead, their enemies behind. Had God’s people forgotten Who had led them to that place? Forgotten all the miracles of the past? Forgotten the fact that God was on their side?

Is this not our lot at times? Some situations look impossible, the obstacles overwhelming. We faint; we fear; we downright dread the circumstance! But what does God want us to do? Stay calm; carry on in faith; call upon the Lord and wait for Him to work. After all, He is the God of the IMPOSSIBLE!

Lunch Ladies

Tina spread mustard on a slice of bread as if it were paint on a canvas. (She sometimes fancied herself a sandwich artist.) Her husband occasionally called her The Lunch Lady; she had made plenty of sandwiches over the years, anyway. Oops! Some bits of lunch meat landed on the counter. As she had done many times before, she popped the pile into her mouth. Suddenly a terrible taste exploded on her tongue! She rushed to the sink and spat out not only lunch meat, but an Asian lady beetle!

What we consume can look appetizing on the surface, but sometimes something bad is hidden from view. Maybe that really is tasty lunch fare you’ve got there, but beware—examine it, test it, make sure what you’ve picked up is actually something good. The songs we sing, the books we read, the entertainment we invite into our homes and hearts—is it sound? Use a testing mindset to protect yourself from bitter beetles lurking under the lunch meat.