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I'm sure everyone has a moment in their life that they remember the "light switch going on" in their brain... or they finally "got it". I want to share with you my story of when this happened in my life with being the hands and feet of Christ. If you have been at church the past few months ,you will remember that when Rev. Don Gifford came the week after Christmas he talked about passing the flame we carry on to others. Pastor Perry has been preaching about the same thing. God reminded me of that moment in my life.
Growing up as a boy I spent a lot of summers with my Papa (grandpa). Papa taught me how to fish and camp and he always had time to take me fishing. I remember going on a fishing/camping trip and realizing there was no food to eat. I asked him "where's the food?" and he pointed at the lake and said "If you want to eat ,start fishing". These are good memories but not the one I remember most. Papa picked me up and took me down to Newt's (his cousin) to go fishing. He told me to keep everything we catch today. We had a good day and started home with a lot of fish (I of course caught the biggest). Papa said we had to make a stop on the way home. We pulled into a run down apartment complex that I thought was abandoned. We parked the car and he told me to get the fish and follow him. We walked up to an open door with a box fan blowing the hot summer air out of the house. Papa yelled in the house and a bunch of children and an elderly lady came to the door with her arms outstretched yelling "oh Fred" (Papa's name). Papa said we have something for you and held up the stringer of fish. She started crying and said she prayed to God for food because they had nothing in the house to eat. She kept calling me her angel.
We got back in the car and Papa said we have to make another stop. He took us to his church where he was a deacon and in charge of the food pantry. We went upstairs in the pantry and he said get a box. He filled boxes to the brim with food and we carried them back to the car. We drove back to the house that we just came from. We walked back to the same open door and he yelled in again. "Hey it's Fred and my grandson back." She came back to the door with the children hanging off her and fell to the ground crying when she saw all the food we had brought her. Papa said "here's enough food for the rest of the week and you call if you need anymore".
When we turned to go back to the car, Papa looked at me and said "No one has to know about this. God knows and He's the only one who needs to know". He said that we have to help each other out and no one should go without food. I believe at that moment he was taking his flame of outreach and placing it in my hand. Since that day I have always had a heart to help others and know that flame is in me. Papa past away last year, but that flame to take time to help others and put others first is alive and burning in me today. I pray someday I can pass this flame on to my children and leave a Legacy of love when my time on earth has passed. What is your story? I would love to hear it. Feel free to email back yours.
God bless you, Pastor Joey
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perry meade
