Brewing Tea for Mommy

            I’ve seen this story making the rounds; my source is Doug McIntosh in his commentary on Deuteronomy.

            A young girl named Sally faced a challenging day. Her mother was sick, and Sally wanted to help. She insisted that her mom stay in bed—like Sally did when she was sick.

            Sally picked up the kitchen; she saw the tea kettle and decided to brew her mom a cup of tea, just like her mom had done for her dad when he had been sick. (This was back in the day, before microwaves!)

            Sally made the tea and, beaming with pride, took it to her mom’s bedroom. Sally’s mom bragged on her and smiled broadly. She praised Sally for her service and kind heart, saying with delight, “I didn't know you knew how to make tea.”

            Sally replied, “Yes I do mommy. I do. I boil the water and tea leaves together just like you always do.” As her mom sipped the tea, Sally further explained, “I couldn't find the little strainer thing, though, so I used the flyswatter.”

            Hearing this, her mother spewed the tea out of her mouth. “You used the flyswatter to strain this tea?”

            Little Sally could tell her mother was feeling anxious. Seeking to calm her, Sally told her, “Don't worry, mommy, I used the old flyswatter so I would not mess up the new one.”

            Sally’s mom summoned the self-control she needed to offer Sally her gratitude and praise, instead of a detailed lesson in kitchen sanitation. She saw Sally’s heart, and she was very pleased.

            I suspect God often wants to choke when he sees the way I mess things up trying to help people. However, God knows I make mistakes, and I glean from the Bible that he is grateful, since I am trying. I believe he feels the same way about you.

            People are precious to God. Serve them as best you can.

Chimney Sweeping

            Doug McIntosh in his commentary on Deuteronomy tells the following story:

            “In the early hours of a wet Evansville morning, a driver lost control of his vehicle smashed through the porch into the front of Lee Roy Book’s home. When a utility crew came to the house and began to check for gas leaks, they found that the home’s chimney and gas pipes were plugged by debris. Because of this, carbon monoxide fumes had been backing up into the house for some time.”

            “The poisonous and odorless gas had been creating health problems for Book for a while. Some two years before, he had begun experiencing flulike symptoms, including unexplained trembling, headaches, chills, and nausea. He would also black out occasionally and undergo periods of forgetfulness. “I'd come to when I got in the fresh air,” he said “but every day it was getting worse and worse. It was awful.” Had the utility vehicle not made its unauthorized entry, he might well have died from the poisonous effects of the gas.”

            Now, here's the irony to this story. You know how Le Roy Book once made his living? He was a building contractor. Of all people “he knew the perils of badly vented furnaces and chimneys. In fact, he regularly urged customers to check their flues every two or three years to keep just such a problem from occurring. Yet it never dawned on him to check his own chimney.”

            “A lot of people make the same mistake spiritually. They rarely consider the many ways the God has blessed them in the past and implications of those blessings the way they should live their lives… The opening chapter of Deuteronomy describes an entire nation that failed to check its chimney. Israel has repeatedly been the recipient of God's faithful acts of kindness, but they had neglected drawing the proper implications of such blessings. In Deuteronomy 1, Moses called on people to remember God's faithfulness as a spur to their own spiritual lives.”

            The book of Hebrews amplifies the ramifications of Israel’s negligence. They were, in effect, poisoned spiritually. Their relationship with God was ruined.

            Lesson learned: check the chimney!