Week of March 27
There are some things that just defy logical explanations. This is one of those things for me. I was a mother with a small boy at home. About once a month a Mr. Clarke would stop by, usually late morning, with a suitcase full of small household items for sale. Mr. Clarke, I never knew his first name and always addressed me as Mrs.Marr. He was an older gentleman of retirement age who was trying to augment his income by going door-to-door selling whatever he could. I felt sorry for him and would always buy something, even if only a pair of shoe strings, so he wouldn’t leave without having sold something.
Mainly we would just chat about the weather or something in the news that week while my little boy played with blocks or some other toy on the living room floor. After several minutes of friendly conversation he would open his suitcase and point out some new item. I would listen to whatever he was promoting and politely say I didn’t think I needed that right now but what we really needed was a box of bandages. I would purchase the item and he was always most gracious as he packed his wares and left.
This went on for about a year and then one month passed and he hadn’t stopped by. Several months passed and no Mr. Clarke. There was a knock at the door one morning and I opened it to find a thin pleasant looking woman.
“Are you Mrs. Marr,” she asked? I nodded.
“I’m Mrs. Clarke, You were a customer of my husband. He passed on you know.”
“I’m sorry, I wondered what happened to him.”
“I’ve been talking with him and last night he gave me a message for you,” she said.
Before I could collect myself to say anything sensible she must have read the expression of bewilderment and shock on my face and she continued talking.
“Oh yes. I talk with him frequently and last night he was very clear that I bring a message to you. He said, ‘tell Mrs. Marr there is going to be an explosion.’ That’s it, that’s all he said. I can’t tell you what it means, just what he said.”
She wouldn’t come in, apologized for upsetting me in any way and thanked me for being kind to her husband and she walked away. I was dumbfounded.
I thought of a hundred questions I wanted to ask her but she had gone. I didn’t know how to get in touch with her, or where she lived and I still didn’t know Mr. Clarke’s first name.
An explosion! What to do? My husband worked at an oil refinery and I impulsively called his office. As the call was going through I thought what on earth will I say to him, that a woman I’ve never met before told me her dead husband gave her a message last night to warn me that there was going to be an explosion…
“Hello.”
“Hi Dear, how are you?”
“I’m fine, what’s up?”
I couldn’t tell him at least not now over the phone while he was at work. I would tell him when he got home tonight, besides he would be asking me a ton of questions to which I had no answers. The rest of our conversation was strained and awkward especially on my end. I tried to determine what the rest of his day was like without tipping my hand. I was trying to ascertain that he was going to be right at his desk and not out by the fuel storage tanks or down on the docks where the tankers unloaded. I sensed he was getting curious about my new-found
interest in his day. Then he asked the question I was dreading.
“ Tell me is there something on your mind that prompted this call?”
“Oh,” I laughed nervously, “ Could you pick up a dozen eggs on your way home?”
When he came home with the eggs I came clean. I was relieved that he was home and we both had a laugh over our cat and mouse phone conversation. He didn’t know what to make of Mrs. Clarke’s message anymore than I did. So we returned to our routine and switched on the evening news.
The lead story was “A Northwest Airliner Exploded Over Lake Michigan Today Killing All On Board.”
I fainted. Our daughter was a flight attendant for Northwest. Bob, after assisting me, called the airline. They wouldn’t give out any information at this time. Our next call was to the Providence Journal. After talking to a few people an editor said he would make inquiries. He did and called us back with the information that our daughter was not on that flight.
We found out later that she was scheduled for that flight but took sick and her roommate had taken her
place. It was a sad day for our family and many others.
What about Mrs. Clarke’s message and its source? Was it just coincidence? I wonder? As I said, I have no logical explanation for this.
Caroline Marr
East Providence, Rhode Island
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Moment of Faith
In 1946, I was stationed in the Aleutian Islands as a chaplain for the United States Air Force. Our particular island , Shemya, was shaped like an oyster and was just large enough to have one important airstrip.
One night a tremendous earthquake broke open the deep water of the Bay of Alaska and sent tons of surge water ( a tsunami) toward our island. The high flood water, much higher than our island, was to hit us at about 3 a.m.
We had 3,600 men on the island, but only one surface craft for about 200. The idea of evacuation was abandoned.
Hundreds of men and officers gathered in the chapel on the high side of the island. Our highest elevation was about 18 feet and we were warned to expect about forty feet. Every light was on in the chapel. We had both large and small prayer services and the men periodically sang songs of all faiths and wrote letters. Many men sat alone thinking of their families and what the impending death by drowning would be like.
At about 4 a.m. the wave came. There was a strong gush of wind and high water, but nothing like the predicted 40 feet. The island of Adak, lying 400
miles to the east broke the wave in two, with one half going into the Bearing Sea and the other toward Hawaii.
We were spared. Lots of water (ranging from15 to 18 feet) and a lot of mopping up, but there were no casualties. Not a single life was lost. The water came as far as the Chapel steps. Our faith had been lifted by total trust and dependence on God, and he came to our rescue.
Lionel W. Nelson, USAF retired
Sunny Side Village, Sarasota
“Copyright©2003, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.Reprinted with express permission of the Sarasota-Herald Tribune.”
One night a tremendous earthquake broke open the deep water of the Bay of Alaska and sent tons of surge water ( a tsunami) toward our island. The high flood water, much higher than our island, was to hit us at about 3 a.m.
We had 3,600 men on the island, but only one surface craft for about 200. The idea of evacuation was abandoned.
Hundreds of men and officers gathered in the chapel on the high side of the island. Our highest elevation was about 18 feet and we were warned to expect about forty feet. Every light was on in the chapel. We had both large and small prayer services and the men periodically sang songs of all faiths and wrote letters. Many men sat alone thinking of their families and what the impending death by drowning would be like.
At about 4 a.m. the wave came. There was a strong gush of wind and high water, but nothing like the predicted 40 feet. The island of Adak, lying 400
miles to the east broke the wave in two, with one half going into the Bearing Sea and the other toward Hawaii.
We were spared. Lots of water (ranging from15 to 18 feet) and a lot of mopping up, but there were no casualties. Not a single life was lost. The water came as far as the Chapel steps. Our faith had been lifted by total trust and dependence on God, and he came to our rescue.
Lionel W. Nelson, USAF retired
Sunny Side Village, Sarasota
“Copyright©2003, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.Reprinted with express permission of the Sarasota-Herald Tribune.”
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Wherever You Are God Is
Week of March 13
“Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, and serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” Romans 12:11-12
Often I felt troubled by what was going on with my life, my husband’s situation, our daughter’s uncertainty and our parents’ care needs. I wondered what it was all about and whether I would ever have any calm or control in my life. It seemed that as soon as one situation got better another obligation became more onerous.
Four years ago, I began to pray that God would show us what to do and make our way clear. Often, late at night, I affirmed: God is my help in every need .God does my every hunger feed.
I reminded myself what the Prophet wrote.
“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’”
(Jeremiah 29:11).
Then suddenly, in one day, the way became crystal clear in a matter of hours. At 11:00 a.m., Gary called with the wonderful news that he had been offered a job he had applied for many months before in Florida!
As I was wondering how and when to tell my employer and friends the news, I was called to an unscheduled meeting and was promptly laid off, but with severance pay. My head still spinning, I called my daughter, in her senior year in college, to tell her the news. She had informed us several months earlier that she would not be looking for a job near us after graduation. When I told her the news she said, “I am coming with you!”
Within the next few weeks the following occurred:
•I was able to rent an apartment that allowed dogs, was convenient, and had major appliances—from the first phone number picked from the newspaper.
•Our house sold in a matter of weeks.
•We found a new house in Florida in the first week.
While there are still more changes to come, we don’t doubt that all things work together for good, in God’s time, and often situations that to normal human understanding are negative clear the way for good. Because of how these events unfolded, we feel confident that we are where we are supposed to be, and that none of these things came about “by coincidence.” The presence of God watches over us wherever we are, and His timing is awesome.
Janet Clinton Miami, Florida
Copyright Thanks Be, First Church of Christ, Wethersfield, Connecticut.
“Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, and serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” Romans 12:11-12
Often I felt troubled by what was going on with my life, my husband’s situation, our daughter’s uncertainty and our parents’ care needs. I wondered what it was all about and whether I would ever have any calm or control in my life. It seemed that as soon as one situation got better another obligation became more onerous.
Four years ago, I began to pray that God would show us what to do and make our way clear. Often, late at night, I affirmed: God is my help in every need .God does my every hunger feed.
I reminded myself what the Prophet wrote.
“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’”
(Jeremiah 29:11).
Then suddenly, in one day, the way became crystal clear in a matter of hours. At 11:00 a.m., Gary called with the wonderful news that he had been offered a job he had applied for many months before in Florida!
As I was wondering how and when to tell my employer and friends the news, I was called to an unscheduled meeting and was promptly laid off, but with severance pay. My head still spinning, I called my daughter, in her senior year in college, to tell her the news. She had informed us several months earlier that she would not be looking for a job near us after graduation. When I told her the news she said, “I am coming with you!”
Within the next few weeks the following occurred:
•I was able to rent an apartment that allowed dogs, was convenient, and had major appliances—from the first phone number picked from the newspaper.
•Our house sold in a matter of weeks.
•We found a new house in Florida in the first week.
While there are still more changes to come, we don’t doubt that all things work together for good, in God’s time, and often situations that to normal human understanding are negative clear the way for good. Because of how these events unfolded, we feel confident that we are where we are supposed to be, and that none of these things came about “by coincidence.” The presence of God watches over us wherever we are, and His timing is awesome.
Janet Clinton Miami, Florida
Copyright Thanks Be, First Church of Christ, Wethersfield, Connecticut.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Driving Through a Fog
Week of March
I was traveling out of town on a freeway when the weather turned bad and fog began to limit visibility. Traffic slowed and eventually became stop and go. I decided to get off the freeway and exited behind a car that had a number plate that was outlined by a purple neon light. I couldn’t see very well but I could see those purple lights. As I was driving slowly through that fog I began thinking about the past five months.
I had been a part of a transition team charged to find a new senior pastor for our church. I was lamenting all that time spent in confusion and seeking direction. I now realized that this had been a process. It wasn’t about finding a new pastor it was about being humble and obedient to God. Like the church at Ephesus, we had to be reminded, “You have forsaken your first love.”
I followed that car for an hour and a half. It was as if God was using the neon light to say, “you need me, keep your eyes on me and I will lead you one step at a time.” The fog lifted and the car in front slowed to turn back onto the freeway. It was then I drew close enough to see the words at the bottom of the number plate. It read, “Jesus Loves You.”
Frank Burns
Sarasota
I was traveling out of town on a freeway when the weather turned bad and fog began to limit visibility. Traffic slowed and eventually became stop and go. I decided to get off the freeway and exited behind a car that had a number plate that was outlined by a purple neon light. I couldn’t see very well but I could see those purple lights. As I was driving slowly through that fog I began thinking about the past five months.
I had been a part of a transition team charged to find a new senior pastor for our church. I was lamenting all that time spent in confusion and seeking direction. I now realized that this had been a process. It wasn’t about finding a new pastor it was about being humble and obedient to God. Like the church at Ephesus, we had to be reminded, “You have forsaken your first love.”
I followed that car for an hour and a half. It was as if God was using the neon light to say, “you need me, keep your eyes on me and I will lead you one step at a time.” The fog lifted and the car in front slowed to turn back onto the freeway. It was then I drew close enough to see the words at the bottom of the number plate. It read, “Jesus Loves You.”
Frank Burns
Sarasota
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