Shortgrass
Well-known member
Just thought I would share a lesson I have learned over time. It began many years ago. I was a young fella working for Vince Leninbrink near Merriman, Nebraska. Vince was a good Christian of the Catholic persuasion, and never worked on Sunday. Well, I decided I should apply my skills at a local church also. I decided to see if the small Methodist Church in Merriman would like a dynamic young Sunday school teacher. They did, but got less than they bargained for. As was and still is customary for me I often attended church in clean Levis. A wonderful widow woman by the name of Moreland offered me a suit that had been her late husbands. I did like it, and accepted the suit. I wore the suit some, but liked the vest best, and wore it with new Levis a lot, until it shrank too much (lol). This lady, I suspect, was Soapweed's grandmother. Well, the youth did not get excited about their new teacher, and I was a dismal failure at teaching Sunday School. The Lord showed me how miserably inept I was. Through an interesting set of circumstances, involving this website, we met Soapweed and Peach. What a blessing to have Soap and Peach as our friends, and the only thing I regret in our relationship are the miles that lie between the Spearhead and Bar C Slash. It has not been lost on me how the Lord worked in that small church with or without me. I could have been cast aside as an arrogant and stubborn vessel, but the Lord nurtured me and taught me some things. We'll fast forward a few more years, and I find myself attending Grace Brethren Church at Kenai, Alaska. I was well aware of how unqualified I was for Christian service, but the Pastor, Ed Jackson, wasn't. He approached me about teaching the Adult class. He explained how he'd prayed for men to be sent to his church, and wished I would take a stab at teaching. I knew how unqualified I was, and quickly told him so. Pastor Ed was persistent, and I agreed to try it for one week, so he would see how bad a choice I was. After that, he would no longer ask me to do anything! I approached that week with great fear, and a lot of prayer, seeking God's guidance. We had a good lesson, teacher learning the most. That was back in the 70's, and I have taught a Sunday school classes in many churches for most of the years since then. I learned that God does not need our skills or ability. Even if we have any, they are only what He has given us; He could have given them to a cow pie if He wanted to. He wants us only to be willing, and do as He asks, and He can accomplish much. Perhaps when we are ready to give our lack of ability to the Lord, He will do more than He will with our ability, if that makes any sense. But, it is He that accomplishes it, not us. We are much like a hammer in the hands of a craftsman. Isiah 1;19 states: "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land" He only needs us to be "willing and obedient" to accomplish some pretty remarkable stuff. He is the one who accomplishes it. I was humbled again two weeks ago, as you folks reinforced that fact. I had typed Good Sunday Mornin' on Saturday night, being dead tired, I gave very little thought to what was said, and just threw something up there. The comments indicated that the Lord must have used it in spite of my lack of dedication to the job. I know it is the Lord, because I can write something with a thought in mind, and someone else gets something different out of it, and yet another is spoken to in a totally different way. It is a privilege to serve a great God like that! I am so glad He did not give up on me. God is not a quitter.
