Talking to Mr. Mower

I never knew that lawnmowers could talk. Well, I never really heard the lawnmower talk but I did hear Pastor Jim talking to his “Red Machine”. Maybe lawnmowers can only hear? Anyway, Pastor Jim wasn’t happy with Mr. Mower. It seems Mr. Mower was broken and wasn’t cooperating with Pastor Jim. One of Mr. Mower’s bolts wouldn’t come out and Pastor Jim was not very happy. He warned Mr. Mower that he was about to end up in the junkyard but Mr. Mower wasn’t buying it.

After several one-sided conversations, Pastor Jim put the tools away and took me into the house. He cleaned up and poured himself a large glass of ice tea and plopped down in the easy chair. We both sat there for thirty minutes, not saying a thing. Finally I broke the silence. “We’re not mowing the lawn today?” I asked.

“No Bear,” Pastor Jim answered softly. “Not today.”

“Did you fix Mr. Mower?”

“No Bear. Mr. Mower is still broke,” replied Pastor Jim.

“You couldn’t fix him?” I meekly asked.

“No Bear, I couldn’t fix him. You see sometimes you run across things you cannot fix or you cannot fix at that time. It’s sometimes better to quit trying because you’re so frustrated that you end up breaking it more.” Pastor Jim paused for a moment and then continued; “You should never try to solve a problem when you’re anger. Anger is a powerful emotion that if not held in check can cause a lot of problems. We will try fixing the lawnmower tomorrow.”

That night after Pastor Jim had went to bed; I gave a lot of thought to what Pastor Jim said. I thought about all the people that are broken whose life has been messed up because of sin. They, like Mr. Mower, often fight the Lord who is trying to fix them. That must be why the Bible says that God is longsuffering and patient.

Thankfully the Lord does give up on them just like Pastor Jim didn’t give up on his “Red Machine.” You see the next day Pastor Jim was back with some help from the church and Mr. Lawnmower was fixed. So if you have someone that you love who is fighting against the Lord, don’t worry. The Lord won’t give up and that is the Bear Truth.

Knock His Block Off!

I am more of a lover than a fighter. You should be able to tell by the “hug me” tattooed on my feet. Pastor Jim doesn’t care much for conflict, neither does Sister Pat. So you must understand my surprise when I saw Pastor Jim delivering karate chops at the air and punching an invisible object with all his might.

In a timid and peace loving manner, I asked him what he was doing. It was clear he was aggravated. He said he was “fighting the devil!”

“Really,” I replied in meekest tone possible.

“No! Not really. It’s just that I get so irritated with the devil always laying temptation in my way that I would like to punch him out.”

This was one of those awkward moments when I didn’t know what to say. Then Pastor Jim began to explain.

“The devil never lets up. He is always trying to cause Christians to slip up and to diminish their testimony. Sometimes he succeeds. Sometimes he succeeds with me. It is always a battle and occasionally I get so frustrated that I’d like to knock his block off.” I didn’t know the devil had a block but it was clear that Pastor Jim was upset with the devil. It was also clear that he was upset with himself.

“Does boxing at the wind help?” I asked.

“Yes and no. No, it doesn’t stop the devil and it doesn’t hurt the devil; but it does make me feel a little better,” answered Pastor Jim

I was a little bewildered with Pastor Jim’s answer; but I could tell he felt much better. I guess if you’re going fight anyone it should be the devil – and that’s the Bear Truth!