have a little faith

October 29, 2009 by Debbie.

That’s a stolen title. I took it from Mitch Albom’s book of the same, have a little faith. I’ve never read his works but like what I’ve read in this nonfiction one I picked up at our wonderful Whitewright Library the other day. Here’s an exert from it:

From a Sermon by the Reb, 1975

A man seeks employment on a farm. He hands his letter of recommnedation to his new employer. It reads simply, “He sleeps in a storm.”

The owner is desperate for help, so he hires the man.

Several weeks pass, and suddenly, in the middle of the might, a powerful storm rips through the valley.

Awakened by the swirling rain and howling wind, the owner leaps out of bed. He calls for his new hired hand, but the man is sleeping soundly.

So he dashes off to the barn. He sees, to his amazement, that the animals are secure with plenty of feed.

He runs out to the field. He sees the bales of wheat have been bound and wrapped in tarpaulins.

He races to the silo. The doors are latched, and the grain is dry.

And then he understands. “He sleeps in a storm.”

My friends, if we tend to the things that are important in life, if we are right with those we love and behave in line with our faith, our lives will not be cursed with the aching throb of unfulfilled business. Our words will always be sincere, our embraces with be tight. We will never wallow in the agony of “I could have, I should have.” We can sleep in a storm.

And when it’s  time, our good-byes will be complete.

There’s several zingers like that in the book and I’m only half way through.

Another storm came through this afternoon. I can’t remember a wetter fall  in our 21 years in Texas. The leaf mold smells just like Ohio fall and has the same allergic response. Misery.

I haven’t been called in to school this week yet so finally did some work here at home today. I worked on a couple of quilts for the Foster Kids and baked some of Grandma Hall’s sugar cookies - a batch sprinkled with sugar, one with walnuts & sugar mix, and one spread with apricot jam and latticed with more cookie dough then glazed with a white powdered sugar glaze. There’s a chicken roasting in the oven, veggies to stir fry with ginger sauce and rice to steam in a bit. We’ll sleep well tonight. Hope you do, too.

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