Where There's A Will, There's A Way
John King
I want to tell you a true story about my mother and grandfather. Since both are deceased and the statute of limitations has run out, I will proceed.
My father met my mother in Italy during WWII. They married, and my mother became a New Testament Christian. Mom could not speak English very well. She had a poor education and did not drive a car, but she had determination.
My brother worked at a large and prestigious fruit market and often brought home large amounts of blemished and discarded fruit. Mom cleaned and used what she could and discarded the rest. The neighborhood children found the discarded fruit and began eating it. Mom told them to stop, and she gave them cleaned and washed fruit. Before long, she had kids actually standing in line for fruit. She became the “fruit lady,” and the kids loved her.
About that time, the elders of the congregation made a push to bring kids to VBS. Mom said, “I’ll bring about 50-60.” She visited the parents of the children eating the fruit and soon had permission to bring 50-60 kids to VBS. She notified the elders and told them that she needed a bus. The elders told her they would send a couple of cars to transport the children. Mom told Grandpa of her situation, and he said, “I’ll handle it.” Grandpa then rented a 24 foot U-Haul moving van. He went to his shop and made long wooden benches for the children to sit on. That evening, he drove to VBS, parked the truck in front of the church building, and unloaded a truckload of kids. Like I said, the statute of limitations has run out. The next day, the elders found a bus.
Mom got “her kids,” as she called them, to VBS that week and 13 of them brought a parent along. Mom used discarded fruit as a tool to introduce souls to her Lord. In short, she used someone else’s garbage.
I have heard of “Yankee ingenuity” and “West Virginia ingenuity.” Maybe we need to start using “Christian ingenuity.” Jesus said to us all, “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” John 4:35. -9137 Prunty Rd., Berea, WV 26327.