Letters From Grandpa #550

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 550

Dearest grandchild,

A few days ago Mary Clymer passed away and I was away on a mission trip to Guatemala. Sadly, I missed her funeral. She was my secretary for over 30 years and her husband, Gordon, was a close personal friend. We never had a cross word with one another. She considered her work a “ministry” and not a “job”. Our church had a food room and clothing room for the poor and through the local ministerial alliance we also provided $10 vouchers for those who needed gas. Mary was famous for her mercy and generosity and a steady stream of needy people made their way to her office. Fortunately, the local churches later helped take the load off her shoulders by forming the “Helping Hands” ministry which enabled all the churches in town to share in this ministry.

Before moving to Carl Junction, Gordon and Mary served with a church in Kingsport, TN. Sandy Feathers Barker was a member there and she and her husband, Joe, had a brush with death that was published in the August 1980 issue of GUIDEPOSTS.

Joe and Sandy were sailing in a small boat with their little dog off the coast of Florida. Suddenly they ran aground and damaged the 3 foot stabilizer which acted as a keel. This made it impossible for them to steer and a strong wind was blowing them away from the shore. When they slipped by the last island the wind grew stronger and the waves were so high that they were splashing into the boat. The only way they could repair the sail was to lower the hinged mast to the deck and re- rig the line from the top. This could only been done in a calm sea with no wind.

` In desperation. Joe fitted oars into the oar locks and tried to row. It was hopeless. The waves were too high and the wind was too strong. They were being tossed around like a toothpick in a torrent. When darkness fell they lashed themselves onto the boat to keep from being swept overboard.

The dawning of a new day did little to relieve the hopelessness of their situation. It was then that Sandy looked into the eyes of their little dog. The dog was happy and unafraid! Then Sandy wondered why she did not trust God in the same way her little dog trusted her. As another night descended she and Joe joined hands and prayed that Jesus would calm this storm just as He had done so on the Sea of Galilee. Within 5 minutes the 6 foot swells had melted into tranquility. The experience was so awesome that she could hardly believe it. Soon the mast was repaired and the sail was raised. They were, however, perhaps as much as a 100 miles away from land. Then they prayed again that God would send another wind that would blow them back to the shore. As they had apparently passed through the eye of the storm God answered their prayer and their compass indicated that they were on a direct course to safety and no steering was necessary.

12 hours later, as daylight filled the eastern sky, the wind ceased. Starving for water and utterly exhausted they prayed “Oh God, You’ve brought us this far, why have you left us here?” The answer was only a few minutes away. A 51 foot yacht with the latest navigational equipment was “somehow” 18 miles off course. Shortly after their rescue another storm hit with all its fury, but they were already safe and dry.

There is a lesson in this for everyone! Just because you a safe today, does not mean that disaster may be only moments away. Someday you will be as desperate as Joe and Sandy Barker. The monster of death has had you in his sights since the day you were conceived. Ultimately he will overpower everyone for it is appointed unto every man once to die and after that the Judgment. In the mean while,

however, please remember that God is a very present help in time of trouble! You do not even need a cell phone to speak to God! Neither do you need to wait for an appointment! The psalmist said that God is our refuge and strength and is a very present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1). God loves you! He knows your name, and has even numbered the hairs on your head! God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that no one would not have to fear the enemy of death.

I Corinthians 15 has been called the “Resurrection Chapter of the Bible.” All 58 verses in that chapter deal with the resurrection. Please consider: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce