Here's Pastor
Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church.
Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.
Sometimes the problem isn't the
real problem.
Let me
explain.....
I was traveling home from our
family cottage.
It's about a 2 1/2 hour
trip.
30 minutes into the
trip,
I decided to stop at a convenient
store
to pick up a
soda.
I have greatly reduced my intake
of sodas
the last 6 months to improve my
dietary habits.
But I had a craving for one as I
was driving.
I was in an out,
as is the flow in such a
store.
90 minutes
later,
I needed to make a phone
call.
I pulled over and
stopped
and realized my phone was nowhere
to be found.
I had made a call in the first 5
minutes of the trip,
so I knew I hadn't left it at the
cottage.
It had to be at the convenience
store.
It was my only
stop.
I tried calling my cell
phone.
No one
answered.
I didn't have time to return and
retrieve it.
Since I was planning a trip back
up to the cottage the next weekend,
I figured I could call the
store,
have them hold the
phone,
and pick it up in 6
days.
Like most
people,
I have become very dependent upon
my phone,
but I decided I could survive
without it for a week.
THE PROBLEM
WAS,
I couldn't remember the name of
the convenience store.
I have a pastor acquaintance who
lives in that town,
so I planned to call him and ask
him the name of the store.
THE PROBLEM
WAS
I didn't have his phone
number.
So I called directory
assistance
They found someone who had the
same last name
and same first initial listed in
that town.
It must be him, I
thought.
When I
called,
an older lady
answered.
This is not good, I
thought.
Hello,
I gave her my name and asked for
my friend.
It was a bad
connection
Who is this? she
said
I repeated my name and asked again
for my friend.
Who?
Her voice was raising to an
uncomfortable level.
You don't know me,
but I just drove through your
town,
and need to know the name of
the convenience store
on the south side of
town.
What? Who is
this?
This was not going
well.
In the background I heard an older
man's voice.
It was definitely not my
friend.
He said,
Erma, it's a scam artist.
Hang
up!
Wait, I
pleaded
I'm not trying to scam
you,
I pulled out my ace and
said,
I'm a
pastor.
And I just need to
know
the name of the convenience
store on the south....
CLICK.........dial tone.
So much for my
ace.
I was at a
loss.
THE PROBLEM
WAS
all I needed was the name of the
store.
And I couldn't find anyone to help
me.
I dialed directory assistance
again.
Thinking if I could talk to anyone
in the town,
they would know the name of the
store, I said
Please give me the phone
number of any business in town
THE PROBLEM
WAS
I just realized that it was Labor
Day.
Most businesses were
closed.
I explained to the operator my
dilemma.
She had no
solution.
I was getting
desperate
Wait, I
said
There's a grocery store in
that town
It was open
today.
Can you get me the
number?
She was able to find
it.
I called the grocery
store.
A woman
answered.
I explained my
problem,
and asked her if she knew the name
of the convenience store.
She knew of the store, but
couldn't recall the name.
She started to ask other
employees.
No one could recall the name of
the store.
I was beginning to feel that my
phone had been sucked into the twilight zone.
I was so desperate, that I was
about to ask this kind lady,
if someone from the store could
walk
the two blocks to the convenience
store
and return my call with the
name.
Suddenly someone in the
background
shouted out the chain name of the
store.
That's it! I
said.
Could I possible impose on you
to look up the number in the phone book?
They looked it up.
THE PROBLEM
WAS
The store wasn't listed in the
phone book, at least by the chain name.
My frustration level was going sky
high.
I thanked the kind lady and the
crowd of employees
who had tried to help me.
And then I hung
up.
I had run out of
options.
But I remembered the source of all
information..........the internet.
I looked up the convenience
chain
to find the number of that
store.
There was no listing of a store in
that town.
Arrrrrgggggghhhhhh!
So I called the closest store in
that chain.
Once again explained my dilemma
to a complete stranger.
I asked the store employee if they
had a listing of all the stores in the area.
Oh yeah, he
said.
THE PROBLEM
WAS
It's not listed, he
said
That's strange, because I know
there is a store in that town.
Double
Arrrrrggggghhhhhhh!
I hung up the
phone.
I couldn't think of anything else
I could do
besides driving 2 hours to pick up
my phone.
Then my phone
rang.
It was the kind lady at the
grocery store.
We found the number for the
store.
It's listed under another
name.
The number
is.....
I think heard the Hallelujah
Chorus,
and bottles of champagne popping
in the background.
I think I was crying tears of joy
as I thanked the kind
lady.
She could have easily
ignored
the strange request of this
stranger.
But she
didn't.
Not only did she try to assist
me,
but she continued to go the extra
mile after she had hung up the first time.
It certainly wasn't convenient for
her to call me back.
But she did.
And because of
her,
she made my life a lot
easier.
I learned a lot that
day.
#1 Sodas are really bad for you,
in more ways than one.
#2 Being a pastor doesn't make
you sound less scary to older ladies
#3 The internet does not have all
the answers
and most
importantly,
#4 People who step out of their
convenience to help a stranger,
know the heart of
God.
It made me examine how hospitable
I am to strangers.
How willing am I when it is not
convenient for me.
How gracious am I when I don't
know the other person.
You see the PROBLEM IS not about
convenience or familiarity.
It is about recognizing that a
stranger is just as important as a brother,
because according to Jesus, the stranger IS my
brother.
Thanks you kind
lady.
Someday on my way
through,
I will stop by your store to thank
you in person.
I just won't buy a
soda.
Whoever compels you to go one
mile,
go with him two.
Give to him who asks of
you.
and do not turn away from
him
who wants to borrow from
you.
Matthew
5:41-42
.
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