Last month we took our van to Jiffy Lube for an oil change, and other minor details. In the business of the day, I sent Bob alone this time, with instructions to please not let them talk us into a big bill, since the Christmas budget was tight. All in all, it still added up to a little over $200, a painful amount, BUT, while he was sitting in the lobby, waiting for the work to be done, he finished writing a poem (quoted below) and shared it with an individual who was also waiting.
When the work was done and the time came to pay , he was informed that the bill had already been paid by the other gentleman in the lobby! What a generous gift, and what a surprise! Perhaps sharing poetry is not as unwelcome as I had come to wonder.
So we went out to I-Hop to celebrate this tender mercy shown to us. As we entered the cafe, Bob, in his usual exhuberant voice declared, “Merry Christmas! I don’t care if that offends anybody.” I sheepishly and quickly ducked into our booth and counseled him to simplify and just keep it to “Merry Christmas”!
After the meal, the server came to our booth and informed us that another customer had paid for our meal. What a day of tender mercies! I don’t suppose this story has much to do with the poem below, except that it was the one he quoted to the Jiffy Lube angel, and, perhaps to realize that God often sends blessings in the form of strangers, or friends, or whatever.
Our saving Grace is here for every single soul,
Who strives to understand the Son, as our own spirit’s grow.
We can’t serve two masters. We can’t serve hate and love.
If we are filled with anger, we can’t feel the peaceful dove.
If we are by the fire, but lay down in the snow,
One act can cancel the other as our heat and warmth does go.
If we go to church on Sunday, but sin throughout the week,
We stagnate like a desert pond and dry up beneath sin’s heat.
The saving Grace of Christ lifts us when we are weak,
If we humbly pray and ask for help, our Lord comforts us, as we seek.
We can feel His wondrous love, in our darkest hour
If we pray with body, soul and mind; we can feel Christ’s wondrous power.
We have found the saving Grace of Christ is a never-ending song.
It sings to us when we are weak, and helps us grow more strong.
And when we fear, from earthly woes, it whispers to our soul–
Keep striving for the Holy Ghost, then we will forever grow.
