by Sally Matheny
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| Enthusiasm fresh as the morning |
My enthusiasm was fresh the morning we began serving a meal at the project. People slowly filtered into the commons area. My cheerful greetings were not returned. Instantly, I sensed a divide greater than the table of food between us. They had come for the food. Nothing else.
An unexplainable heaviness stifled conversations. Icy silence, as well as sharp tongues, sliced my attempts to interact. It was obvious. We were not welcome.
After helping distribute the food, I retreated under the outstretched branches of a tree, thankful that I’d thought to bring a lawn chair. It provided a secure place to perch and watch the crowd. Most of the missions team stayed under the shady tent. Two or three pastors mingled and tried to chisel out conversations.
Then I saw her.
A young woman, probably in her early twenties, stood off to the side, alone. She was looking around as if searching for something, or someone.
I hesitated. The last woman I had approached, gruffly informed me she was waiting on someone. Perhaps this young woman was waiting as well.
Yet, she continued to stand there, sweat flowing down her face. She hugged her drink and chips in one arm and her hamburger in the other. What was she looking for?
Seating was limited. Most people grabbed their food and hustled back to their homes. Could this woman possibly be one of the few who wanted to sit and stay awhile?
Slowly, I eased out from under the tree’s protection. Would she be like the others and berate me for being there? I was an outsider—different ethnicity, different economic level, different worldview.
“Hi. Are you looking for someone?”
She shyly shook her head no. I didn’t recognize any anger in her face. It appeared to be more like discomfort.
“Would you like to sit down to eat?”
A simple nod yes.
I look around at the few tables provided. No empty seats. I scan the grassy area under the trees. An empty chair sits beside mine.
“Would you like to sit under the tree? It’s cooler.”
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| Sharing the Son Means Leaving the Shade |
She nods and follows me to the tree. The distance is short, but we don’t arrive in time to claim both chairs. Only my chair is left.
“Here. You can have my chair.”
As she sits down, I introduce myself. She tells me her name. But I could not hear her well over someone yelling. I did not ask her to repeat it.
I smile, trying hard not to be insincerely cheery. “It’s nice to meet you. I hope you like your burger.” I motion toward the tent. “I’ve got to go help serve.”
She smiled with another silent nod.
As I stood under the shade of the tent, I kept looking back over at the tree. The woman ate silently. A young man, with a mental illness, chattered away beside her but she wasn’t responding.
Something inside told me to go tell her why we were there. We weren’t just giving away free meals. We were sharing the love and hope of Jesus Christ.
But the earlier rejections of the crowd stifled my response.
The crowd dwindled. Only a few remained in line. I decided handing out napkins to folks would be helpful.
“Would you like a napkin?”
A few minutes passed. Another expressionless face approached.
“Would you like a napkin?”
Another five minutes passed before anyone needed my valuable napkin distribution service. This is ridiculous. I should just go talk to her.
I neatly stack the napkins on the corner of the table and turn back towards the tree.
She is gone.
As quietly as she slipped into my life, she slipped out. As well as my opportunity to tell her how much God loves her. And how He gives a joy so great, that she’d have a hard time staying so quiet.
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| Plant a seed of hope. |
And for my silence, I am sorry.
Perhaps she already had a relationship with Christ. I hope so.
I understand when we first meet someone, it’s not always the best time to share Christ.
Although often,
it is.
”But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.
Always be prepared
to give an answer to everyone who asks you
to give the reason for the hope that you have.
But do this with gentleness and respect.”
1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
by Sally Matheny
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| Share Hope with the Mentally Ill |
Years ago, one of my kindergarten students, “Cody,” exhibited bizarre and sometimes violent behavior. He wasn’t malicious. Yet, he consistently wrecked havoc among the five-year-olds, causing everyone around him great stress and concern.
No matter what methods we tried to encourage success for him, they only helped for a short time—a very short time.
My assistant and I felt all our efforts were hopeless. And school wasn't the only place of Cody’s erratic and raucous behavior.
One morning he came in with singed hair and no eyebrows. His crystal blue eyes remained as expressionless as his face as he told me what he did in the middle of the night.
The kindergartener snuck out of his home with an armful of toys. He dumped them in a pile in the front yard. Then, while everyone was asleep, he set them on fire.
I asked his grandmother, whom he lived with, about it later. She seemed a bit frazzled, but laughed it off and said the boy was constantly into things.
It took me almost an entire year to convince Cody’s grandmother and family doctor that something wasn’t right. He needed more help than his prescribed Ritalin could provide.
Around May that year, Cody finally received the requested testing and counseling. The results revealed Cody suffered from severe mental illness due to physical and sexual abuse. He was taken where he could receive extensive care.
Prior to Cody receiving help for his mind and body, I had the opportunity to offer him hope for his troubled soul.
It was on one of those many days when the P.E. teacher sent him back into the classroom because he was causing mayhem and harm on the playground. Cody flitted from one end of the room to the other. I was used to talking to him while he was on the move. Rarely did he stand still or even make eye contact.
However, that day, something unusual happened.
Read more »
by Sally Matheny
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| Dreams of the ultimate mother-load of candy |
It’s that time of year when kids’ eyes dilate and their palms sweat. Dreams of the ultimate, mother-load of candy swirl in their minds until they’re dizzy with excitement. What possibly can be better than that? Parents, stay with me here. Halloween is a golden time for you to shine. Do you remember what it was like when you were a kid?
Although, things were different back then. I don’t remember ever buying a costume at the store. On occasion, we did buy some of those cheap plastic masks you attach to your head with a rubber band. They made your face sweat from the carbon dioxide circulating underneath. If you didn’t pass out from the carbon dioxide, the rubber band eventually snapped in two sometime during the night. The masks made brief appearances to elicit candy and then they were usually tossed aside.
My costumes were always homemade. The costumes my sister and I wore in the late sixties and early seventies would be taboo now, but they sure were popular back then. We dressed as hobos, gypsies, and fat people. It wasn’t that we were trying to be offensive—we just had to use what we had on hand—bandanas, old clothes, cheap jewelry, and pillows. Occasionally, if there wasn’t much time to prepare, an old sheet was thrown over our heads and two eye holes were cut out. That’s about as oogie-boogie as it got. We weren’t into zombies, vampires, and witches.
If the stores sold the horror masks back then, as they do now, I sure didn’t see it. (Thanks, Mom)
As I grew older, I became more aware of the dark side of Halloween and that did scare me. I respect people’s opinions about not doing anything on Halloween, not to acknowledge it in any form or fashion.
However, for our family, we consider Halloween a great time to shine the Light of Christ into the darkness.
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| Halloween is a great time to shine the Light of Christ |
A few ways we do that:
We carve angels, crosses and the name of Jesus on our pumpkins.
We attach Bible verses to the candy we give children. Sometimes we’ve given witness tracts or New Testaments with the candy.
Our children never dress up in costumes that would scare another child or offend our Lord and Savior. Same thing goes for any decorations.
We help with fall festivals at church each year. Our church’s fall event is called Hallow Him. Many people, who never enter our church on Sunday, come to this event.
For the Trunk-or-Treat event (cars’ trunks are decorated and are filled with candy to give children), we decorate our vehicle in a way that tells something about the love of God.
It may seem challenging but there are tons of cool ideas you can get from the Bible. Once, I saw a van decorated as a whale. The trunk was opened like the mouth of the whale and inside sat a man dressed like Noah. Think of the opportunities given to present the gospel when children asked “Noah” what he was doing inside that whale!
Even if you don't dress or decorate with a Biblical theme, you can still present something wholesome and light-hearted in contrast to the dark themes of evil.
Christians, I challenge you. If you participate in events during the end of October, search for ways to be a Light.
People are going to be out searching for free goodies. Many of those search for treasure in all the wrong places. Time after time, they are left dissatisfied. The world offers tempting avenues to fulfillment—but just like candy—nothing lasts.
Halloween is a golden time for you to shine a Light into the darkness. Guide people to something that will last forever. Give them the hope and truth of Jesus Christ.
Your thoughts?
