Sunday, May 21, 2006

 

NOT HOME YET

F O O D F O R T H O U G H T
Subscribe Unsubscribe Change E-mail View Archive

NOT HOME YET
Author Unknown


An old missionary couple had been working in Africa for years and were
returning to New York to retire. They had no pension; their health was
broken; they were defeated, discouraged, and afraid. They discovered
they were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was
returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions.

No one paid any attention to them. They watched the fanfare that
accompanied the President's entourage, with passengers trying to catch
a glimpse of the great man. As the ship moved across the ocean, the old
missionary said to his wife, "Something is wrong.

Why should we have given our lives in faithful service for God in
Africa all these many years and have no one care a thing about us? Here this
man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody makes much over him,
but nobody gives two hoots about us."

"Dear, you shouldn't feel that way," his wife said. "I can't help it;
it doesn't seem right." When the ship docked in New York, a band was
waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other dignitaries were
there. The papers were full of the President's arrival.

No one noticed this missionary couple. They slipped off the ship and
found a cheap flat on the East Side, hoping the next day to see what
they could do to make a living in the city.

That night the man's spirit broke. He said to his wife, "I can't take
this; God is not treating us fairly." His wife replied, "Why don't you
go in the bedroom and tell that to the Lord?"

A short time later he came out from the bedroom, but now his face was
completely different. His wife asked, "Dear, what happened?"

"The Lord settled it with me," he said. "I told him how bitter I was
that the President should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no
one met us as we returned home. And when I finished, it seemed as
though the Lord put his hand on my shoulder and simply said, 'But you're not
home yet!"

PRAYER
"Lord Jesus, you are the fulfillment of all our hopes and desires.
Your Spirit brings us grace, truth, life, and freedom. Fill me with
the joy of the gospel and inflame my heart with love and zeal for
you and for your will".


****************************************************************

DISCLAIMER: FoodForThought shared this message as submitted and do not claim to own any copyright privileges on it. All the messages are believed to be free for circulation or public domain. All messages come in either by email in original form or copied from the internet sites. The work was submitted to us as an item for distribution, and it was posted solely on the basis of its quality. It's a FREE service.

****************************************************************

To subscribe/unsubscribe, tell friends about FoodForThought, share a reflection, read past issues and feedbacks, give donation or submit a prayer request please go to: http://www.dailyfoodforthought.org

If you have no access to the internet, use these emails:

To subscribe:

subscribe@dailyfoodforthought.org

To unsubscribe:

unsubscribe@dailyfoodforthought.org

Feel free to forward this to your friends, family and associates!

Have a nice day!

© 2006 FoodForThought





Comments: Post a Comment

<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?