Day One of God’s Gum
With gum on my mind and none on my shoe, I set out to work with high hopes that God was going to place opportunities in my path. Would I be looking in the right direction when they came?
The first thing I saw when I woke up this morning was wind and rain. The blinds on my sliding porch door were wide open so I got the full effect. “Oh no,” I thought as I got out of bed. “This is really yucky.” I use really technical terms when I first wake up. It must be my degree in physics.
We made it to James’ school on time, which is always good, and work was only a few blocks down the road. After I parked my car I sat listening to closing comments on Songtime. They were talking about Job and what he went through. It may have been Chester McCalley but I can’t remember for sure because just then I looked up and saw a dear friend, Louie, walking across the parking lot in the light rain and heavy wind.
Louie is a member of my Wednesday lunch-time bible study group at work, Ray of Light. He was diagnosed with a form of throat cancer a few months ago. As of this writing, he has only recently finished his radiation treatments and is in the middle of his chemotherapy. He was walking a little more hunched over than usual and my heart immediately went out to him.
I left the car knowing that I could not catch up to him but my prayers for him were present in my heart. After I entered the building, coffee sounded really nice so I dropped my backpack and jacket off at my desk and preceded to make the long trek to the cafeteria. I approached an intersection and I saw Louie walking past me to the left.
I loudly (well, not that loud, I suppose) called out to him with a big smile on my face. He turned around and we chatted a few minutes. He told me he wasn’t doing too well and I felt so helpless. Louie’s the kind of gentlemen that would always bring a smile to your face. Mild-mannered with a quick wit and a deep love for the Lord. He has always been the constant in the group.
I tried to ask him questions that a simple nod yes or no would answer because his throat is still very sore due to the radiation. I asked him when his head was going to look like mine and he related that he had already lost all his facial hair. Not bad for a guy with a full head of white hair!
I didn’t keep him because I knew he was going to get some work started. We said our goodbyes and I told him that we missed him very much at our Wednesday bible study.
I need to start a prayer request area for prayer request postings because he needs to be on there big time. Another prayer request that needs posting is for a woman I met on my trip to Oklahoma and Texas for my grandmother’s funeral. Her name is Joy and she just found out she had a cyst on one of her ovaries. Her doctor thinks it’s an infection of some kind so he put her on antibiotics.
Was this brief moment a time when I handed out God’s gum? I think so.
Stay tuned…
