Danes-worthy Anecdotes - 2/10/2008

Preachers all collect stories. These are the best stories I heard this week:

Knowing When to Quit

One of SMA’s colleagues at law school told this story from his undergraduate days: One day he had gone to class as usual, and once there he regretted his decision to attend. For whatever reason, on this day, he just could not tolerate being there. So after signing the class roll to ensure his presence was not a total waste, he waited for the professor’s attention to be diverted and chucked his book bag out the window of the classroom. He then waited for a second diversion and followed his book bag to freedom. A problem arose on the way out the window. He thought he was on the second floor of the building, but had forgotten that it had been constructed on a hill, causing a slight, yet significant miscalculation. As he clung helplessly to the windowsill he realized the only thing left to do was jump. Fortunately, he got away relatively unscathed. Later in the day, one of his classmates asked him if it had been him who took the leap. He confirmed it and then learned that the class had been cancelled immediately after his plunge. The professor noticed his absence and surmised that one of two things just occurred: 1. His class was so boring that someone preferred jumping out of a window to hearing his lecture or 2. Senility was setting in and he imagine someone jumping out the window. In either case, a class dismissal was in order.

Love Them Anyway

While in Newport on Wednesday, I learned a lot about my family history. My grandmother’s father died when she was seven months old. Left with three children and a newly bought home, my great grandmother, Mae, did what she could to make ends meet. She rented part of her home to men, which was taboo in 1926. She also worked at a restaurant which served alcohol, further making her persona non grata in the town of Newport. Further adding to her dissatisfactory reputation were her often unsupervised children. My grandmother felt the town viewed her and her brothers as “trash.”
To make matters worse, her father’s relatives also carried this view. Her aunt, a teacher, at the local grammar school was mortified to see her niece in line for free milk and rebuked Mae for allowing this to happen. Mae explained that the only milk her child would be receiving would come from that line and that unless she would pay for her milk, her daughter would gladly accept the charity. No milk was ever offered. In fact, none of her father’s family helped Mae or her children. In fact, Mae’s first bill after his death came for his burial - from her husband’s very own brother!
Mae knew her children were wild and instructed them never to do anything to their relatives. No matter how they treated them, they were family and should be acknowledged as such. My grandmother and her brothers never retaliated and my grandmother is proud that not one of them died without loving her, realizing that she was not the “trash” the town once thought she was. This is a picture of the Golden Rule, as Christians are truly family - "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)

Rodeo

On Wednesday, MLM had attended a Christian function at UT the previous night where a rodeo clown named Mark spoke. He was a minister who got into rodeo at age 44, with a bad back. He seemed to possess few of the attributes necessary for this field, but felt God’s calling and followed. Now, after he saves rodeo stars from charging livestock, he can tell them about true salvation from Christ. MLM was struck by the fact that most people pursuing careers, Christian and non-Christian alike, assess their abilities and see what would be a good fit for them. Perhaps, sometimes, God gives desire, abilities, etc. after a call.

Trust

On Thursday morning, JCG attended Dr. Don Ivey’s funeral earlier in the day in Crossville. Dr. Ivey was a doctor who made house calls up until his retirement in 1993. At the funeral, many told stories about the doctor’s role in their life. One man told of how Dr. Ivey called his secretary to schedule a gallbladder surgery for the following morning. The next day, Dr. Ivey arrived and was alarmed when he looked at his already anesthetized patient. Somewhere, wires had been crossed and the male patient was clearly not the woman he thought he had scheduled for surgery. After the man awoke, gallbladder in tact, he was asked why he consented to the surgery knowing that he had no problems with his gallbladder. He responded that if Dr. Ivey believed he needed the surgery, then that was good enough for him! George MacDonald (1824-1905) said, “To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.”