Phil,
Thanks for sharing that story with us.
When we are struggling it is so easy to forget to be open to the many
blessings that God offers to us.
Peace and love to all!
virgie At 04:58 PM 7/2/2005, you wrote:

>Has God Forgotten About Me?
>
>
>By Phil Scovell
>
>
>
>
>
>      We walked out of church together one Wednesday evening.  The
>night was beautiful.  It was quiet and only the sounds of the car
>doors slamming could be heard.  The engine fired and we pulled
>away from our parking spot in front of the little church we
>attended.
>
>      It was silent in the car for some time.  Then he spoke.  "You
>know, Phil," he said, "there's just something I don't understand I
>guess."
>
>      "What's that, Brother?" I asked; feeling I might have an idea
>of what he was thinking.
>
>      "They came tonight, as you noticed," he said, "and they
>hardly ever come."
>
>      "Sure," I replied cheerfully.  The came tonight because they
>just bought a brand new car that they wanted everybody to see.  I
>wasn't impressed"
>
>      "That's what I don't understand," the 75 year old man said
>with a sigh.
>
>      "What about it, Brother?" I replied, now knowing exactly what
>he meant.
>
>      "Well, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, you understand," he
>continued with a weariness to his voice, "but it does bother me."
>
>      I waited for him to continue; knowing that he would.  We had
>become close friends over the years and he was like a dad to me.
>He was spiritually wise beyond few men I knew and he had only a
>fourth grade education.  He had raised several children.  Two
>different sons had been killed by passing cars at two different
>times and that was just the tip of the iceberg of all the
>adversity he and his wife had suffered through their 50 years of
>marriage.  I had even told him once that when I grew up, I was
>about 49 years old at the time, I prayed God would make me just
>like him.  I wasn't joking either.
>
>       "Here I am," he said, "driving this old beat up car but
>don't get me wrong.  I'm thankful for what the Lord has given me.
>We have a good enough house and all for our age and we are
>thankful for it, too.  We have loved and served the Lord
>cheerfully in the church all these years and we have been
>spiritually and financially faithful to the Lord.  Yet, a feller
>just gets to wondering sometimes."
>
>      Of course, what he was really wondering, was why the people
>who had been there that evening with their new car, appeared to be
>so blessed, especially when their lives, and the lives of their
>children, were so screwed up spiritually.  Was he wrong for
>wondering?  Of course not.  He also knew way more than I did about
>that family.  I felt privileged he felt free to share his feelings
>with me.
>
>      Less than six months later, we were riding in the same old
>car to church on a Sunday night and he said, "Phil, I want to tell
>you something but I don't want anybody else to know.  This is just
>between you and me."
>
>      "Ok," I agreed, "that's fine.  What is it?"
>
>      "Well, I want your opinion but just keep this between us
>right now."
>
>      "Ok," I said again.  What is it?"
>
>      "Well," he began, it is this way.  Ann and I have been given
>an opportunity to move back to eastern Kansas.  We have a relative
>who has almost a brand new four bedroom home they want to sell to
>us."  As the conversation continued, he explained the house
>already had a sloping sidewalk for his wife, who was, at that
>time, in a wheelchair, plus centrally air conditioned, and they
>had several relatives living nearby and the town was small enough,
>you could walk to just about any place you wished.  Additionally,
>the sale of their house in Denver would allow them to buy their
>relative's home and pay cash for it.  That's not all.  Due to the
>sky high house market in Denver, they would be able, after they
>purchased the new house, bank 100,000 dollars.  I casually pointed
>this out to him and suggested this was the Lord.
>
>      When he finished, I said, "So what's the problem Brother?"
>
>      "Well," he said, "I don't know if we should do it.  I mean,
>we'll have to move and all and I just don't know.  What do you
>think?"
>
>      I said, "Wait just a minute.  You are asking me if you should
>make this move or not?"
>
>      "Yep.  I'm asking your opinion."
>
>      I said, "Brother, if you don't take this deal, you've got
>rocks in your head.  Don't you see it?"
>
>      "See what?" he wanted to know.
>
>      "Just a few weeks ago, you were feeling the pain of serving
>God all your life but living on your social security and hardly
>making it each month.  Now, the Lord is giving you a chance,
>during your retirement years, to live in a beautiful house with
>air conditioning, which you don't have now, you can bank a good
>hundred grand, and you can go down to the local car dealership and
>buy a 40,000 dollar van, if you want to, paying cash for it, and
>still have sixty grand left in the bank.  What is the matter with
>you?"  I think he had stopped listening when I mentioned he would
>have 100,000 cash left over.  I nearly stopped thinking myself
>when I thought of God's immense grace he was about to bestow upon
>this humble man and his wife.
>
>      He said, "I guess you're right.  It is the Lord, isn't it?"
>
>      I said, "Of course it is the Lord.  Who else would pull off
>something this big?  If you let this go by, Brother, I'm going to
>call your relative up myself and take the deal.  I'd love living
>out there in that little town.  If you do it, maybe Sandy and I
>will just move out there and rent one of the bedrooms from you."
>He laugh as the relief washed over him.
>
>      they eventually moved, of course, and one day they drove
>their nice air conditioned van back to Denver and took us out to
>eat.  God doesn't forget.  Yeah, but you say, "These people were
>old?"  Who you calling old here?  Sure, now they are about 80
>years old but doing well, more active in church than ever before,
>and his wife isn't in a wheelchair any more.  Like I said, God
>doesn't forget.  He doesn't forget us if we don't forget who He is. So all
>we have to do is remember who He is.
>
>
>Phil C Sharp
>The Coil Of The snake
>A Free Online E-Novel
>www.SafePlaceFellowship.com
>
>
>
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