Last night we had the privilege of having author Don Richardson stay in our home. Many of you know him for his book "Peace Child", which tells about his time serving as a missionary in Irian Jaya. But he has written many other books, and served in several countries of the world. He came to speak to our "Perspectives on Global Missions" class last night.
When he got here I could tell that he was exhausted and ready to get some sleep. But he is such a gracious man that he stayed up and visited with us for a few minutes.
I was in awe!!! He has such a presence about him. Doug described it as "feeling like the Master Yoda of Christianity" was staying in our house. He really did have a "wise sage" demeanor, and his stories from the mission field are just incredible!!!
But we finally let him head on to bed, and had all just settled in for the night. Suddenly, about 1 am, we heard this loud "BAM!"
Doug went scrambling downstairs to see if he was alright. Apparently, the bed had been shimmed on one corner and had fallen off the block. We were mortified.
But Don took it all in stride. He calmly stated, "Don't worry. I'm fine. But I think something happened under your bed."
Then he calmly picked up his bedding, walked to the twin bed on the other side of the basement, and went back to sleep.
Now I don't know if that kind of composure comes from surviving life in a mud hut with a cannibal tribe, or death threats from militant Muslims. But that man has an incredible peace and confidence about him.
I was thinking about that experience this morning, and Doug and I were discussing both our embarrasment and our deep respect for Don. But one thing we said was that we aspire to be like that. When unexpected things happen and disrupt our comfort, we want to be able to just pick up and move on without skipping a beat.
Lord, may we not be rattled by anything that comes our way, but have such a deep reliance on you that we can rest in your arms in spite of our circumstances.
7 comments:
Wow! 3 posts in one day! :)
How cool when God sends someone (or some thing) into our life at just the right time and by it solidifies in our spirit what He is doing and that the bumps on the way are nothing compared to His eternal goodness.
Not that you needed something like this at this particular time or anything.
at least you didn't hit any deer with him in your car!!! or get lost as i did with becky monday - i wasn't lost in oakland - i just left the directions at home - i would have found the hotal - but she wasn't up for a francie adventure!
forgot a part - or got pulled over by the police - i've done that with folks in with me - like students, interns. . . so - praise God it was simply a bed.
You will be a great sermon illustration! I love it - not because it happened to you, but because it or something similar has happened to so many of us!
T
Can't believe that you got to host Don Richardson. Geez.
Though Lords of the Earth, for me, was always better than Peace Child. Stan Dale has forever been a hero of mine.
Rick,
Yep. I needed that this week.
It also helped that neither of our guests were SBC. I was able to really talk about some things with them, and get some encouragement and a new perspective.
They both reminded me that God is bigger than any one group or denomination, and He has a plan and purpose that is GOOD.
I've been going back through all the promises I can find in the Word. Probably the most special is the one that my parents gave me when they named me, Isaiah 41:10. "So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." What a promise!!!!
BTW--I appreciated your post about the 5th cast. That spoke volumes to me as well. Thanks for your wisdom and perspectives.
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