Shelby County Today

October 5, 2020 - 

“What thy hands find to do, do it with thy might…”   (Ecc. 9:10)

Willie came this morning to do some painting for us. He arrived at 8:00 sharp as he always does but his 20-year-old helper came dragging up an hour late with his hands in his pockets and mumbling excuses. 

It’s a good thing he wasn’t working for my father-in-law, Oley LeDoux.  Oley has worked for the same company in Sulphur, La. for 56 years and says they never hire anyone who comes for a job interview with their hands in their pockets. 

My Dad, one of the world’s hardest workers, told my brothers and me to keep our hands out of our pockets and to work for our pay. But times have changed and we now have a generation of lazy parents spawning a brood of lethargic hand-warmers.

My Pastor told me years ago that the world didn’t need any lazy preachers and advised me to never preach with my hands in my pockets. I never have…

…and never will.

October 1, 2020 - “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”  (Hebrews 13:2)

Our daughter, Kay, had recently married and was living in St. Joseph, Missouri. Our son, Doug, was attending college in the same city. In the summer of 1980 my wife and I had enjoyed a weekend with them, driving there from our home in Ft. Worth, Texas.

Interstate 35W was still busy with traffic, even at 1:00 a.m. on this early Sunday morning as we returned. About twenty-five miles north of Ft. Worth my 1975 Volkswagen Rabbit suddenly became a turtle, then a snail, and finally died. I coasted over to the shoulder without power and stopped. We looked at each other as we pondered our sudden predicament.

We had a few options, but none were desirable. Should we lock the car with our luggage inside, and attempt to find a telephone? Should I do this alone, or should we both walk? I really did not want to leave my wife alone in a disabled car on the side of an interstate freeway.

I took inventory of any open convenience stores or gas stations on the feeder road, but nothing was in view. My wife began to pray for God’s assistance while I opened the hood and peered inside. I saw nothing dramatic under the hood, however not being a mechanic I was not totally surprised. A large truck passed by so closely that the wind almost blew me over. We needed help fast.

About that time a man in a pickup truck pulled off on the shoulder ahead of us. He exited his vehicle and walked back to me, a big smile on his face. “You out of gas?”,  he asked me.  “I don’t think so as my gauge showed about half a tank. The engine just suddenly stopped as though a switch was flipped,” I reported to him. “Well, I have a five-gallon tank of gas in the truck bed, let’s put a couple of gallons in there and see what happens.”

I did not see any writing on the side of his pick up, and wondered about this Good Samaritan. Who was he, and what was his game? I felt that I needed to be on alert in case he was planning something sinister.

Then he appeared at the rear of my Rabbit with the gas can. After putting in a couple of gallons, I attempted to start the car, but it would not co-operate. “I guess you were right about the gas,” he stated. “We’ll have to do something else.” I decided it was time to smoke him out. “Do you work for AAA, or a towing company?” I asked, watching him closely. “No, I don’t”, he replied while handing me a business card. “I am a member of the CB Rescue Club of Fort Worth. We volunteer to patrol the freeways on week ends looking for people in trouble like yourself.” That sounded reasonable to me at the time.

“Where do you folks live?” he asked. “Gosh, we live in Wedgwood. That is a long way southeast of here, maybe fifty miles”, I replied. “No problem, folks, just grab your luggage and get in the truck and I will drive you home”, he offered. I hated to leave my Rabbit stranded on the freeway. It would probably be towed away overnight. But, his offer seemed the best one on the table under the circumstances. It was now close to 2 in the morning.

He drove us to the driveway of our home. He seemed like a really nice, pleasant fellow. We invited him into our home so he could relax a few minutes. We would not normally have taken that chance, but felt compelled to help him in return. My wife made some sandwiches, opened some chips and a Coke. He seemed to be hungry, though he refused to sit on our furniture because “he would get it dirty.” He admired my Kel Light, a flashlight used by police officers, so I gave it to him.

We thanked him for his kind assistance.  He refused any money as payment for his expenses. He reported that his wife was in the hospital and that he needed to go be with her. Then he left. I looked at his business card. It gave his name along with “Tarrant County CB Rescue Club,” and a telephone number.  

My wife thought it would be a nice gesture to call his club the next day and thank them for their help. However, the phone number was not good. I tried to locate the man in the telephone book. We could never locate him or his organization. The man appeared suddenly, and disappeared mysteriously. Suppose we had entertained an angel unawares?

September 28, 2020 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus, Amen. Sunday was the twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. We got rain and the promise of fall-like temperatures this week. I went last Sunday to Dallas and visited with my daughter and son. Megan and her faithful dog Stella then returned the favor and spent a few days with us. Our two dogs really like Stella, and Stella enjoys running around our big fenced-in yard. Megan and Sue were able to visit family in Nacogdoches, including Grandma Dixie in assisted living. Megan and I went to Center’s Lily Farm to get plants for our gardens.

Schools continue to operate with a mixture of remote and in-person learning. We wish them a successful year and hopefully, a healthy one. Joaquin and the other Shelby County football teams won their high school games this week. It’s good to see some normalcy in this anything-but-normal time.

Paxton Methodist Church is meeting each Sunday wearing masks and practicing social distancing. Our music is just on piano and CD—no singing to spread germs. And, by the way, remember to get your flu shot this year! Especially with Covid still very much in our lives, you need to stay healthy every way you can.

All during the month of September we collected macaroni and cheese for Community Christian Services; we loaded them into my truck Sunday for me to deliver. Next month is that kids’ favorite, peanut butter and jelly. CCS is also starting on their annual Christmas for Kids. Our church received a letter from Joaquin First Baptist this week announcing their plans and asking for donations—checks and/or Angel Tree gifts.

My sermon preparation got off to a late start because I was in Dallas this week. On the way to Dallas and then Thursday going to a Shreveport doctor’s appointment, I listened to ten lectures on Early Christianity. Several of the lectures speculated what the very earliest Christians believed about Jesus—long before the four gospels were written and even before Paul’s letters around CE 50. While I was listening, I tried to put myself in the shoes (or sandals, I guess) of those first believers. That is not easy to do because our frame of reference is so different from people who lived two thousand years ago. But that became the focus of my sermon: How did early Christians view Jesus, God, the idea of a messiah, and so on? The scripture I used was Matthew 16: 13-20 when Jesus asks the disciples who people thought he was. Then he asked who the disciples thought he was; only Peter spoke, saying that he was the Messiah and the Son of the living God.

We had two special guests at Sunday School and church today. Fannie’s granddaughter, Carly and her son Brooks came. Brooks is 6 months old! For most of us, this was the first time we met Brooks. It was great to have them, and I know Fannie was thrilled. At church, Larry, Gene, Joy, and Theresa presented Fannie with a Blue Star Banner of three stars. The stars represent Fannie’s two grandsons, Will and Jake, and a great- granddaughter, Alexis, serving in the military. We at Paxton Methodist appreciate their service, and I know that Fannie is proud.

Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here. Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds.” Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist, you can send your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.

Randy & Sue Smith/Paxton United Methodist Church

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”  (Hebrews 13:2)

September 24, 2020 - Around January of 1974 my insurance company transferred me to our new office in Littleton, Colorado. Living in Colorado was a blast for our family. My wife, Clara, had taken a job at Denver Children’s Hospital in downtown Denver. She was working for the chief cardiovascular surgeon, Dr. George Pappas, as his secretary and assistant. It was a very exciting, though stressful position.

In the summer of 1976 the hospital was hosting a cardiovascular surgery conference. Clara was in charge of working out all the details for this event. A rather famous Indian heart surgeon had been invited to be the primary speaker. It was Clara’s job to obtain a copy of the Indian physician’s background and education, a resume if you will. Everything was going smoothly until she received a faxed copy of the doctor’s information.

On the morning of the conference she was preparing to make copies of the speaker’s resume when she discovered that the document was in a foreign language. She was unable to identify his education or anything else about him. She could find no one in the hospital who could translate for her. This dilemma would be very embarrassing to all concerned if not worked out.

Running out of time, Clara walked down the hall to a break room in search of someone to help her. Suddenly a woman tapped her on her shoulder. Clara turned around to see a young Indian woman, dressed  in her Sari, complete with her Bindi on her forehead. In broken English the woman ask Clara if she could be of assistance. Showing her the doctor’s papers she inquired if the mystery lady could translate it into English. “Of course,” she replied, and proceeded to do so.

Clara thanked the mystery lady repeatedly, explaining that she had just saved her day. Then she ran back to her office to retype the resume and make copies of it, just in the nick of time.  The conference was a success, thanks in part to this Indian lady. Clara tried to find her to express her appreciation again, but she had disappeared. She was never seen again.

Clara had prayed that God would send someone to help with her insurmountable problem. Did God respond by sending an angel in the proper attire to help her? After all, He does promise to answer prayers.

Related Article:
"Entertaining Angels" (Part One) By Neal Murphy