Observation #15

From the Schoolhouse

Kaja tucked the bear into a small student desk right next to me.  She whispered a few strange instructions to him and then waddled off on urgent business.  It was still early and the morning students had not yet entered the building.  The room was quiet except for my radio playing softly.  The bear didn’t seem to mind.

It was a little awkward at first.  The bear wasn’t a skilled conversationalist.  I tried not to stare.  He was huge, his paunch puckering up against the rim of the desk.  He seemed uncomfortable, but I figured Kaja knew what she doing when she stuck him there.

I could tell right off he wasn’t interested in Civics.  The class textbook was right there in front of him and he wasn’t showing any compulsion to dissect the intricacies of the Judicial Branch.

After about ten minutes, I was more and more impressed.  I could tell he was a deep thinker, a trait woefully absent among so many modern students.  He had an uncanny ability to focus, locking his stare upon the unseen possibilities of whatever issue he was currently dealing with.  He never once asked to use the bathroom, and he didn’t seem to require earphones or endless streams of rockabilly lyrics.

I had just decided to parcel out a little praise when Kaja came barreling back into the room.  She plopped her books on the desk beside the bear, swooped him into her arms and waltzed off into the hall.

I felt guilty that I had not at least tried to speak to him earlier while I had the chance.  I guess there’s a valuable lesson there somewhere.

From the Pulpit

We visited our last church Sunday.  Laodicea was a wealthy ancient city about 100 miles east of Ephesus where our journey began, and I suspect some of that wealth had seeped into the fabric of the church.  The Lord seems to chide them for depending too much on their money and gold and too little upon Him  “Buy some gold tested by fire,” He told them.  This city was so rich that after a devastating earthquake in the year 69, the leaders of the city merely dug into their rainy day fund and rebuilt the city with cash.

The Lord loved them (Rev. 3:19), but still castigated the church for being “lukewarm” an epithet that seemed to categorize their religious apathy and dependence upon the luxuries of life in Laodicea. He went on to say, using a rare Greek word, that He was going to “spit” or better “vomit” them from His mouth. That’s a pretty vivid and drastic measure that none us would want to experience.

From the Pew

I was so surprised Sunday when several ladies approached me with bags of home-cooked meals prepared to help Alice with her cooking duties.   There were stews and soups and a variety of delicious breads.  I can assure all of the good Samaritans that every morsel and drop was consumed with delight and thankfulness.  It meant so much to both of us that so many cared enough to anticipate this need.  It just reaffirms our belief that the Drummondtown Baptist Church is a wonderful place to serve.