Artist and Healer

One of my white stoles is silk on one side, linen on the other.  It was a gift, and the artistic creation, of a very special pediatrician in Houston.  Dr. Nora ..... discovered that her practice in the Medical Center was prospering.  She opened a second office in a very poor Hispanic section of Houston, and divided her work week, caring for many who just could not pay.  Very busy, she also found time to craft beautiful silk and linen paraments for her church.  When she delivered them, she said:  "The altar cloths are for the church, and these stoles are for the other ministers to use. This one is for you to keep;  take it with you when the Bishop moves you."

Her work is a witness to me every time I use that stole.  There are other artist/healer witnesses, too.  One appears in today's Upper Room devotional, written by an eye doctor in India, re-telling Jesus' invitation to children and a child-like trust in Him.  She sees those ancient children, repeated,  in the ones in front of her every day.

I'm grateful today for doctors who serve:  surgeons who work in mission hospitals, physicians who develop trusting friendships in the slums to bring people away from modern shamans to modern medicine, for Bethesda Health Clinic in Tyler where the working poor are served, and for the enormous charity work done by local hospitals.  And I am thankful for so many specific faces in personal memory along this line.

Jesus' children who come to him in open trust, always express a reflection of that trust in caring for others.  What an enormous blessing pours out of that trust, fresh for some child today and every day.

Do you have someone in mind?  Thank and encourage them.  (and let me know;  I'd love to know their story)

The Forgotten Engineer (in you)

Buy a TV or whatever, get it home, unpack and set it up, off you go (maybe) into whatever level of excitement you hoped for.  Packing material?  Who thinks about that, anyway!

A great family in Houston worked with youth, traveled everywhere by van, bus, plane, mission trips, ski trips, the whole thing.  Sunday night meals, planning sessions, devoted a huge amount of time, always creative in whatever they were leading.  They raised a daughter who became the key figure in Christian drama in Houston (Jeannette Clift George), very likable people, very dedicated Christians.

I asked him one day about his profession.  "I'm an engineer" was the too-short reply.

"What sort?"

"I design packing material.  You know, the fiber stuff or the foam stuff around TVs, telephones, all that.  I have a small company just north of town."

A profession I had never known about brought my friend real prosperity.  The longer life goes on, the more there is that to discover.  And the more you discover, the more creativity there is to celebrate.

A wise man said, "When God created humankind in His image, He had great fun creating creativity in us!"

Next time you're rummaging around in life's smaller stuff, like packing material or something similarly non-spectacular, wonder a bit:  One of God's children created this, one small piece at a time.  Using a God-given gift implanted in every one of us.

How do you use that gift?