The Cracked Acorn: Blessings

The evening news: I remember Peter Jennings, the ABC News Anchor when he told us that he has lung cancer. Mr. Jennings was a workaholic and had a busy life of marriages and reporting. He was easy to listen to and got straight to the point. I liked him and wished him a successful fight against his disease of which only about 15% are cured. I also thought that once he was cured he could begin to “smell the roses” and enjoy much of the life he had missed. (He died at 67, year 2005.)

Consider: a period of great prosperity that changed everything and reached everyone but the Smith family always just barely got by, but paid their bills on time. Land was going up in price, but not everyone could sell and move away. The Smiths had to stick it out and stay where they were. The family increasingly found their small house shadowed by tall Mac Mansions. Mr. Smith never would mention it or told his wife that he was terribly depressed. Finally when he could stand it no more he confided in a close friend filled with practical wisdom.

“Fred, how many cars do you own?” his friend asked.

“Well, I have an old Chevy and a rusty jeep. Why?”  “Fred, go buy as many old clunkers you can find, have them towed to your property.”

“I don’t see what this has to do with anything, you’re crazy!” and Fred walked away. He couldn’t understand why his best friend would pass out such idiotic advice, eventually Fred did what he never thought he would do.

He found give away cars and asked people to donate cars or trucks and leave them on his property. When his friend stopped to visit, he told Fred that he was proud of him but he needed to do one more thing. “Fred, there’s still room on the property close to the mailbox. I know someone who can’t get rid of his old cattle truck, call him up and take it off his hands for junk.”

Fred was in so deep that his wife was not speaking to him. So he swapped a Saturday of lawn work for the smelly old eighteen wheeler; it now reposed by the mailbox, and you could no longer see the house. Yes, Fred knew he had completely gone around the bend, for what reason and purpose he didn’t know. His friend now told him to call the salvage yard and have it all cut into scrap.

Once cleared, Fred saw his property as much larger and noticed that his small house was really lovely and had many fine features.  His wife now spoke to him and they begin to build a closer bond with themselves and their blessings. (thanks to an old Russian Folk Tale)

WHEN UPON LIFE’S BILLOWS YOU ARE TEMPTEST-TOSSED,WHEN YOU ARE DISCOURAGED,THINKING ALL IS LOST,COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS,NAME THEM ONE BY ONE,AND IT WILL SURPRISE YOU WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE.

(Hymn lyrics SACRED SELECTIONS)

— sell all that thou hast, LUKE 18:18-23