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A
Little Hug'll do it!
Local
character Val Torning's off to hospital again with a bad case
of diabetes and an odd assortment of ailments appropriate
to her history, but with a cheery sparkle emerging from happy
eyes and a hearty chuckle that says that God is in it all
somewhere.
It's February '99, and she's well into her 70's, manages the
Lutheran Community Centre at Mt. Druitt and says every day
she's running into hurting someones, and she's ready for whatever
God has for her, - again and - again and - again ... She says
that no breath is ever lost in believing prayer.
Like
any Grandma:
She's
next to the Emergency room at Bankstown Hospital and she finds
herself on the verandah in company with a 30-y/o man with
a shunt (canula) dripping antibiotics into his arm, a fist
wrapped up from injuries, dragging on an acrid smoke, and
a dejected scowl on his face.
"Drip's
for infection. What's wrong with your hand?" she asked
innocently, like any grandma. He bragged that his mate lent
him his car, turned out to be stolen, the police stopped him,
so he's due for a court appearance. So he slugged his mate
so hard it knocked out the mate's teeth—and broke his
hand doing it! That's why he's here! And he's mad at the world
and most people in it.
Jesus
loves you:
"Well,
I am just a nobody" Val thought, "telling everybody
about a somebody who can save anybody."
Jesus
loves you too much to let you go on destroying yourself like
this she said. "And you're smokin' like a chimney, too!
You must be the greatest fool out—three weeks hospital
recovery for slugging your mate, antibiotic shunt for infection
and drawing poison into your lungs like that!
Reality
is for people who can't cope with drugs. You have the deathwish
Val observed courageously, without a shred of fear of insulting
the man.
"I'm
a full-time crim," he threatened, as tho Val would wilt,
- name's Lulu, an 8 year-old son at home, (to elicit sympathy)
and a de-facto that's left him. But I'm off drugs which is
intended to demonstrate his strength. Well, Val remarked,
you're perfect for Jesus to fix. They talked on . . .
Do
you know who Jesus is?
Lebanese,
Orthodox Catholic, on the run, scared ... aimless. A classic
case that when he'd lost direction, he increased his speed....
"Do
you know who Jesus is?"
"Sorta",
he grunted. Val leaned forward and took a strand of his long
grubby hair in her hand and commented, "Yuk. The hand's
out of action, you can't wash this easily, but Jesus says
every grubby hair is special to Him!"
"That
so?" another indiscernible grunt.
Mob
rule:
Four
of the man's cronies turned up, caps backward, baggy shorts
to the shins, unkempt, unshaven, violent and sullen, heard
part of the conversation, so Val rose to surrender her chair.
They too were clouding the air with smoke, but Val could not
contain her despair longer. Mob rule displayed it's ugly self;
- encouraging each others false bravado ...
"That
must make four of the most foolish men I've seen in years,"
the valiant Val declared, "The Lord gave you two ends;
one for sitting one for thinking. Success depends upon which
you use, heads you win, tails you lose." Why don't you
stop that filthy habit and give the world a break! "Strength
is seen in what you stand for; weakness in what you fall for."
Val reinforced her courage with a quiet prayer and thought
... Don't get discouraged. It may be the last key in the bunch
that opens the door.
Surprise:
One
of the four moved forward menacingly when she talked of Jesus'
love and saving, hovered over her and shouted, "And what
are you going to do about it?"
Val,
matched him in size, but three times his age, paused a moment,
smiled slightly, looked him dead in the eye, reached up and
whispered, "I think I might hug you!"
He
fell back in shock, but the others scorned her offer with
raucous laughter! And the vanquished Val quietly left, reminding
herself that a soft answer turneth away wrath.
Next
day the two met in the hallway. Grandma Val, and Lulu with
the injured fist and the fractured home. No shunt, no smoke,
no threat; dressed to go and he stopped her.
What
could I do?
"Leaving
so soon? Great. God bless you!"
He
smiled sheepishly. "Will you do something for me?"
His shuffled a bit, and his voice was soft and poignant.
"What
could I possibly do for you? I'm here in the hospital, too.
What do you want with an old lady?"
"Can
I have that big hug you promised my mate yesterday!"
Thoughts:
"Lord,
I ask not that you promise to bless what I do, but that I
will do what you promised to bless."
"In
my youth I stressed liberty and freedom and in my old age
I stress order. I made the great discovery that liberty is
a product of order."
"Man
will either be governed by God or ruled by tyrants."
"Pray
devoutly, but hammer stoutly."
"Even
the sinner admires righteousness. That's why he tries to imitate
it."
"Christians
should so live so that instead of being part of the problem,
we are part of the answer."
"Christianity
has not been tested and found wanting. It has been found inconvenient,
and has not been really tried." – G. K. Chesterton
Remember:
'Don't back out on the outback!'
 Opportunity down under Go to our opportunity down under page.
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