Blog Archives - Grace Drops

Drinking from a Saucer

1/31/2014

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

I've never made a fortune
And it is probably too late now
But I don't worry about that
I'm happy anyhow
As I go along life's journey
I'm reaping better than I sowed,
I'm drinking from my saucer
'cause my cup has overflowed.

Ain't got a lot of riches
Sometimes the goings rough
But I've got friends that love me,
That makes me rich enough.
I thank God for his blessings
and the mercy he's bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer
'cause my cup has overflowed.

I remember times when things went wrong
and my faith got a little thin
then all at once the dark clouds parted
and the sun broke through again.
So Lord, help me not to gripe
about tough rows I have hoed.
I'm drinking from my saucer
'cause my cup has overflowed.

And if God gives me strength and courage
when the way gets steep and rough
I'll try not to ask for blessings
I'm already blessed enough.
And may I never be too busy
to help another bear his load
For I'll keep drinking from my saucer
'cause my cup has overflowed.

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

Weathered Old Barn

1/27/2014

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking. He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway. I told him right off he was crazy. He was a city type, you could tell by his clothes, his car, his hands, and the way he talked. He said he was driving by and saw that beautiful barn sitting out in the tall grass and wanted to know if it was for sale. I told him he had a funny idea of beauty.

Sure, it was a handsome building in its day. But then, there's been a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and howling wind. The summer sun's beat down on that old barn till all the paint's gone, and the wood has turned silver gray. Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired. Yet, that fellow called it beautiful.

That set me to thinking. I walked out to the field and just stood there, gazing at that old barn. The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to line the walls of his den in a new country home he's building down the road. He said you couldn't get paint that beautiful. Only years of standing in the weather, bearing the storms and scorching sun, only that can produce beautiful barn wood.

It came to me then. We're a lot like that, you and I. Only it's on the inside that the beauty grows with us. Sure we turn silver gray too... and lean a bit more than we did when we were young and full of sap. But the Good Lord knows what He's doing. And as the years pass He's busy using the hard wealth of our lives, the dry spells and the stormy seasons, to do a job of beautifying our souls that nothing else can produce. And to think how often folks holler because they want life easy!

They took the old barn down today and hauled it away to beautify a rich man's house. And I reckon someday you and I'll be hauled off to Heaven to take on whatever chores the Good Lord has for us on the Great Sky Ranch.

And I suspect we'll be more beautiful then for the seasons we've been through here... and just maybe even add a bit of beauty to our Father's house.

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

Don't Quit

1/22/2014

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
and you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is odd with its twist and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,
the silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
You never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst,
that you must not quit.

Author: C. W. Longenecker. Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

Almighty God

1/17/2014

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

Isn't it amazing how God works in our lives! One Saturday night, this pastor was working late, and decided to call his wife before he left for home. It was about 10:00 PM, but his wife didn't answer the phone. The pastor let it ring many times. He thought it was odd that she didn't answer, but decided to wrap up a few things and try again in a few minutes. When he tried again she answered right away. He asked her why she hadn't answered before, and she said that it hadn't rung at their house. They brushed it off as a fluke and went on their merry ways.

The following Monday, the pastor received a call at the church office, which was the phone that he'd used that Saturday night. The man that he spoke with wanted to know why he'd called on Saturday night. The pastor couldn't figure out what the man was talking about. Then the man said, "It rang and rang, but I didn't answer." The pastor remembered the mishap and apologized for disturbing him, explaining that he'd intended to call his wife. The man said, "That's OK. Let me tell you my story. You see, I was planning to commit suicide on Saturday night, but before I did, I prayed, 'God if you're there, and you don't want me to do this, give me a sign now.' At that point my phone started to ring. I looked at the caller ID, and it said, 'Almighty God'. I was afraid to answer!"

The reason why it showed on the man's caller ID that the call came from "Almighty God" is because the church that the pastor attends is called Almighty God Tabernacle!!

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

And After That?

1/14/2014

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Mexican.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family. The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs... I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?" asked the Mexican.

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" said the Mexican.

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like and enjoying your friends."

And the moral is: Know where you're going in life... you may already be there.

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

Misplaced Blessing

1/10/2014

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

As a young minister, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a grave-side service for a homeless man, with no family or friends, who had died while traveling through the area. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery way back in the country, and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost; and being a typical man, did not stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the crew, who were eating lunch, but the hearse was nowhere in sight.

I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and stepped to the side of the open grave where I saw the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold them long, but this was the proper thing to do. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch.

I poured out my heart and soul. As I preached the workers began to say "Amen," "Praise the Lord," and "Glory." I preached, and I preached, like I'd never preached before: From Genesis all the way to Revelation. I closed the lengthy service with a prayer and walked to my car. I felt I had done my duty for the homeless man, and the crew would leave with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication, in spite of my tardiness.

As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "I ain't never seen anything like this before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

God's Embroidery

1/8/2014

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

When I was a little boy, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the floor and ask what she was doing. She informed me that she was embroidering. I told her that it looked like a mess from where I was, the underside. I watched her work within the boundaries of the little round hoop that she held in her hand.

She would smile at me, look down and gently say, "My son, you go about your playing for a while, and when I am finished with my embroidering, I will put you on my knee and let you see it from my side."

I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the bright ones and why they seemed so jumbled from my view.

A few minutes would pass and then I would hear Mother's voice say, "Son, come and sit on my knee."

This I did, only to be surprised and thrilled to see a beautiful flower or a sunset. I could not believe it, because from underneath it looked so messy.

Then Mother would say to me, "My son, from underneath it did look messy and jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a pre-drawn plan on the top. It was a design. I was only following it. Now look at it from my side and you will see what I was doing."

Many times through the years I have looked up to my Heavenly Father and said, "Father, what are You doing?"

He has answered, "I am embroidering your life."

I say, "But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can't they all be bright?"

The Father seems to tell me, "My child, you go about your business of doing My business, and one day I will bring you to Heaven and put you on My knee and you will see the plan from My side."

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 5 (2007).

Enough

1/2/2014

© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.

I saw a “Twilight Zone” television program years ago where a man was granted one wish. He wished that he would always win at everything he did. He had always loved to gamble but was a perennial loser. Now he discovered that regardless of the odds or the game, he couldn’t lose. He made ridiculous bets but always his number came up. Soon he tired of that and ventured into other avenues of pleasure and pursuit. Still his “luck” held and all he found was success. In time he became very depressed and unhappy. Without the possibility of losing, winning lost all meaning. Happiness was as elusive as ever.

Life consists of a delicate balance of opposites. A friend recently sent me a “five day” weather forecast from Seattle, Washington, which creatively predicted five days of continuous rain. As awful as that sounds, remember that by the end of May each year we in Florida are begging for a good soaking. We need both to be happy.

So, for this year,

“I wish for you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
For you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
Happiness to keep your spirit alive.
Pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
Gain to satisfy your wanting.
Loss to appreciate all that you possess.”

I wish you enough!

© 2003, John C. Fitts, III. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume I (2003).