"Kristy, honey...would you like some smelt?"

There are times you hit rock-bottom in life.  We've had our share of those hard times.  No one is immune to them, though everyone would love to avoid them.  I've had a few of them come to mind recently, especially this particular one I'm going to share with you today.  I must admit when we were going through it, it was devastating.  But they say hindsight is better than foresight, and looking back to 1978 and one of the hardest trials we've ever been through...well, now we can see it for what it was: a blessing, and also a valuable lesson in learning to lean on the Lord.

We moved to a town in Washington State called Chehalis in March of 1978.  My husband had no work but the congregation of a church who became like family to us tried to help us out as much as they could.  Jobs in that area, in that time of economic instability, were few and far between, almost impossible to find.  So the men of the church found...and created...odd jobs for my husband to do.  The work wasn't steady so things were very tight.  I had to squeeze pennies for us to exist.  Our daughter was 1 1/2 and I was pregnant with our son so providing food and a roof over our heads was our biggest priority.  There came a morning, though, when I opened the cupboards and outside of maybe a can or two, that cupboard was empty.  I remember standing there, staring at it, and I cried, "Lord, what are we going to do?"

That evening we went to church and a dear, dear older lady named Bertha came up to me and grabbed me by the hands...such a beautiful smile on her face...and she asked me, "Kristy, honey...would you like some smelt?"  I had never had smelt before but I thought of that empty cupboard at home and I said, "Sure!  I'd love some!"  She patted my hands and told me, "Good, then!  I'll have Lloyd drop some off at your house tomorrow!"

The next morning arrived and a sedan pulled up in front of the house.  Lloyd got out, took a couple of paper bags out, and came to the door.  When I opened it and ushered him in, I told him he could put the bags on the table, which he did.  I thanked him profusely..."DINNER!" I was thinking!  He headed for the door to leave but he stopped and turned to look at me and said, "Oh, Bertha sent along a few things to go with those."  And out to the car he went, opening the trunk.  A few things, the man said?  He brought in bags full of food...toilet paper...paper towels...detergent...fresh fruit...milk...juice...eggs...flour...sugar...cheese...bread...crackers...butter...even Jello!  Our table was loaded. I was beyond speechless.  When I started to thank him again, he told me that's what the Family of God is for, taking care of each other, and he smiled kindly and left.  We had only been Christians since our daughter had been born and we had never experienced anything like it.  On top of that, the church gave us a "Welcome to Chehalis!" party where they surprised us with a money tree that had a few hundred dollars on it and more food!  Food to keep us fed for at least a month or more.  It was very humbling, but oh, it was such a gift!  God certainly does take care of our needs. And right after that my husband got a job.

I read this beautiful poem in my devotions this morning, and it reminded me again of what a true gift the Family of God is.  Their kindness, their love and generosity.  Their support both monetarily and spiritually.  It kept us afloat even in the bleakest hours.  Bertha and Lloyd have gone on to their heavenly reward, and a well-deserved one.  I hear they did this whenever they knew someone was in need.  We haven't lived in Chehalis for many years, but those dear people are still very beloved friends of ours.  But on to the poem. I do not know who the author was, but I'd say they'd been through a trial or two in their lifetime as well:

"In every patch of timber you
Will always find a tree or two
That would have fallen long ago,
Borne down by wind or age or snow,
Had not another neighbor tree
Held out its arms in sympathy
And caught the tree that the storm had hurled
To earth. So, neighbors, is the world.
In every patch of timber stand
Samaritans of forest land,
The birch, the maple, oak and pine,
The fir, the cedar, all in line!
In every wood unseen, unknown,
They bear their burdens of their own
And bear as well another form,
Some neighbor stricken in the storm.
Shall trees be nobler to their kind
Than men, who boast the noble mind;
Shall there exist within the wood
This great eternal brotherhood
Of oak and pine, of hill and fen,
And not within the hearts of men?
God grant that men are like to these,
And brothers, brotherly as trees."

"I am more than my brother's keeper --
I am my brother's brother."