Participants: Richard O'Fill, Kathy Matthews
Series Code: TAH
Program Code: TAH000151
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00:32 Welcome to Thinking About Home.
00:34 I'm Kathy Matthews and I am glad you are 00:35 back with us. Today our guest is Pastor 00:38 Richard O'Ffill from the Florida Conference 00:41 and I want to welcome you again Dick. 00:42 Kathy I am glad to be back. We have so much 00:45 fun last time I think it was, time to do some 00:47 more what do you think. We enjoy each other's 00:49 company don't we? I do, I do I like to 00:50 talking to you. I enjoy your thoughts and 00:53 the depths of things that you talk about. 00:56 You know, how I did last time, I began by talking 00:59 about the trailer that starts the program. 01:02 And I think I asked you that was a picture 01:04 of you and Tom when you first got married. 01:05 Oh! Yeah I remember that. Well I won't say 01:06 that this time, it's not, no, but when I see 01:09 pictures like this of the marriages and the joy 01:11 that goes with it. And I think I remember 01:13 when Betty and I were married and 01:16 you know I use, I was a 19, she was 20 would 01:18 you believe it, well yes, by the way our 01:21 anniversary in June, when is yours? In April, 01:23 in April and I was 17 and Tom was 20. 01:26 We were only child brides, don't we? 01:27 I don't recommend that to anyone really I don't. 01:30 Well anyway, I as I watched that I thought, 01:34 when we stand before the preacher and he says 01:36 do you promise to love honor and cherish 01:39 in sickness and in health, for better for worse, 01:42 and we say yes of course whatever you know 01:44 because we don't have a clue what that means, 01:45 really, you know especially for better for 01:47 worse because we can't conceive of what 01:49 it might be. Right, you are so nervous; 01:51 you can't even think what's to being said. 01:52 Yeah, you know there was a wedding one time 01:55 and someone said well you weren't there, 01:57 and I said well they don't know I wasn't there. 01:59 You mean mentally. I wasn't there physically, 02:02 but I don't think the bride and the groom notice 02:04 it there anyway, okay. But anyway, how thankful 02:07 we are for our homes and, right, and for our 02:10 marriages and, and I am so thankful that God 02:13 brought into my life a girl and she has been 02:14 so precious to me. But you know Kathy you know 02:19 we have a tremendous burden on our hearts, 02:21 so what's going on in the world, yes, 02:23 and what's going on in the society and even 02:27 what's going on in the church. 02:30 But I thought to myself you know probably 02:32 what's going on in the world and society 02:35 and even in the church is really about what's going 02:37 on in our home, of course it is that's what, 02:40 that's what makes it all up isn't it. 02:42 Well because the home is the bases for everything 02:44 and sometimes when I preach being a grandfather 02:48 and by the way I have eight grandchildren. 02:51 Oh! You beat me, I don't any. 02:54 Well listen, well I'll take that back there 02:55 is a couple we started with and they have a little 02:57 boy so we consider him a grandchild. 02:58 This is sort of an adopted grandchild. 03:00 But, though we are not all grand parents, 03:04 or neither are we parents, 03:08 we are all children, yes, can't deny. 03:11 And some times I'll ask a congregation, 03:12 I'll say how many grandparents are here 03:14 and some will raise their hands and then I'll say 03:15 how many parents are here and then of course 03:17 you know some others are putting, 03:18 and then I say how many children and then the kids 03:20 put their hands, and I say wait a minute everybody 03:21 should put their hands up. Yes right because 03:23 we're all children, because we're all children, 03:24 right. But, I have a real burden as a minister 03:29 of the gospel you know we preach the big, 03:31 big ideas and big thoughts, 03:34 but I am starting to think smaller, 03:36 maybe I am thinking bigger because I think 03:38 if we are gonna preach and talk about things 03:40 that are really relevant these days we need 03:41 to talk about our homes. That's painful though, 03:44 but it's too hard to talk about, don't you think? 03:47 You know, you know I read, I read right, 03:49 I wrote a book entitled Lord, Keep Your Mansions, 03:55 Just Save Our Children. I thought that was an 03:57 interesting title. Wasn't it something? 03:59 Well, I guess when I first saw the title 04:03 the Lord Keep Your Mansions isn't that 04:06 a little irrelevant, or I don't want to go there, 04:10 or what did you mean by that? Well, 04:12 that title comes from prayer that I prayed 04:15 and you know Jesus said I'm gonna prepare 04:19 mansions for you and another place we read 04:21 about crowns He has prepared 04:23 and so I prayed it, and it does sound so irrelevant. 04:27 See I really don't need a mansion, 04:29 now don't misunderstand me you say well, 04:31 you must be really rich. I know, I have a roof over 04:34 my head, I know, and indoor plumbing 04:36 and you know, some people may take exception 04:37 for you to say that you don't really need 04:39 a mansion, but I've got a place to live and, 04:41 and when I say Lord keep your mansions 04:44 I am saying Lord really what I want about heaven, 04:48 is not the mansion or the crown, I want, 04:50 I want you to save my children, amen. 04:52 That's the heart cry isn't it? 04:53 This is the heart cry, Betty and I have four 04:56 children and eight grandchildren. 04:58 And, I wish I can say that they were all ministers 05:02 and Bible workers, but its not true. 05:07 And, you know you get all kinds of feelings 05:14 you now when you are parenting and it's not 05:16 turned out according to the book. I rejoice, 05:21 when I hear someone say you know my sons 05:26 some kind of a successful you know something 05:28 or other maybe a doctor or has a business 05:31 or maybe he is even in construction but he loves 05:34 the Lord, and he is the elder in the church 05:36 and you know what do you do if, if its not that 05:40 way you know, your kids aren't, maybe your kids 05:43 aren't even in the church or they've, 05:45 they've been you know maybe taking drugs. 05:50 Can I tell you a story? Well I wanted 05:52 you to tell me, I want you to tell me this, 05:54 I don't know where you are going exactly 05:55 at this moment, but the story in the book what 06:02 I wanted to know about because it made me hurt 06:06 so much was the New Year's Eve night 06:10 that you were so disturbed. 06:13 Let me give you background for that. 06:16 It was our youngest child, is there were you going, 06:18 or you were going somewhere else. 06:20 I am going there no I got, that's where I go 06:22 because the book is about that its starts 06:25 there, yeah. But I should give you bit of a 06:27 background my youngest son came home from 06:30 school one day and he started lifting weights, 06:35 I had pair of old sears weights or something 06:37 on the back pouch, I mean you can see I am not 06:39 a muscle man. But I had bear to the exercise 06:40 I thought weights were something you did exercise 06:43 you know, and to get you know but I didn't know 06:46 that for a lot of people lifting weights are not 06:51 about to you know getting muscles it's about 06:53 being beautiful, yes, and that's why when you go 06:56 to these body building places sometimes, 06:59 they shave their body, well they shave their body 07:01 and they put mirrors around, I remember, 07:02 I know about that, it's incredible. And so, 07:05 and so as I watched my son you know take these 07:08 little cheap weights, and he began to push them 07:11 you know up and I notice he looked at himself 07:13 in mirror when he did that and it had a funny 07:18 feeling because I thought it was about I'm gonna 07:21 you know but it was about look at my muscles. 07:24 And then somebody told my boy that he would 07:28 take steroids it would save him some trouble, 07:31 oh really. And so unknown to us he began to take 07:36 steroids and of course he began to just really 07:41 blossom out and you know 6 foot 2 07:44 and very good looking and pretty soon wearing 07:46 the tone shirts and big old muscles sticking out. 07:54 My life began to change, and I realize that, 07:58 that my boy was becoming an addict, 08:01 and at that point I did know how bad 08:03 it would get, it seem like it was only steroids 08:06 but that can be just kind of entry I mean 08:09 entry thing. And so when you ask me this story 08:13 of something on New Year's night that's down 08:16 the road considerably, from this point, 08:19 yeah from the background, background. 08:21 And, so now I had, I had confronted him, 08:25 his mother and I confronted him, 08:27 and said you know we think you are a drug addict 08:31 because he was fooling with other things too, 08:34 and you know when this begins to happen to you, 08:38 you have all kinds of feeling, I began to read 08:40 everything I could get you know, you say how 08:42 do I get a hold of this, how do I control this, 08:44 yes, and you know what list of things can I do it 08:48 and I tried everything I could do. He was not a 08:50 little boy anymore. He is not a little boy, 08:52 and he is not working see, and so I am sitting 08:56 on the back porch what we call slaughter room 08:59 and its New Year's Eve in Florida you know 09:02 that's not a blizzard. No it's not Florida. 09:07 It was pretty nice then, and but I am sitting 09:09 there and preaching, and I began to cry 09:12 hysterically. And, and I realize that 09:16 I was loosing it, because here I was trying 09:21 to control his life, and I was going out of control, 09:24 yeah, and so it was kind of like I was catching 09:26 quite it was, I wasn't taking steroids but 09:29 emotionally I was really going, really going weak. 09:32 And, then I remember when somebody told me that 09:36 there is an organization for people like that 09:39 and it's called Al-Anon if you ever heard of that. 09:41 I've heard of it yes. And now, I suppose everybody 09:44 has heard of it Al-Anon which is alcoholic 09:46 synonymous or maybe even narcotic synonymous NA, 09:51 that's for the addicts in sense. 09:53 And Al-Anon is not alcozolic; 09:54 Al-Anon is for the families you see, and so, 09:57 I went to the phone and, that day, well right 10:00 then I mean I was in big trouble, and I called AA 10:05 and of course they are really nice, 10:07 and what I wanted to know is where is the nearest 10:09 to me where is the nearest meeting because 10:11 I didn't know what it was gonna be like, 10:13 but I knew I had to have something you know 10:14 some help, right. You know I'd have to say now 10:17 and I can say this looking back that Betty wasn't 10:21 going through what I was going through. Well, 10:23 she suffers in a different way, what do you mean, 10:24 alright. She suffers this all inside you see, 10:27 and so when I suffer, I suffer all outside 10:30 you know I tell people I say when I get a cold, 10:32 the whole office, the whole office knows I got 10:34 a cold. And so, I can't suffer quietly 10:38 and does so I had to have help, I had to have help. 10:42 Well, we discovered where the meetings 10:45 were gonna be, I started going every night 10:47 that now you know I remember it good 10:49 regularly standing there, they only go once 10:51 a week, but I had to go every night, 10:53 you were feeling desperate I think, 10:54 oh I was desperate, but I am so glad I did, 10:56 I am so glad I did. It gave you a lot of help. 10:58 Oh! It just was incredible now you walk into room 11:01 and there is maybe 25 people sitting in there, 11:04 they don't know you from Adams, so you could say 11:07 to person well I'm going in there though really, 11:09 they don't know you from Adam, really they don't 11:11 care who you are, really all they care is that 11:14 you know we are all in the same boat, right. 11:16 In fact, this is not like group therapy 11:18 or anything. Well no I think it is a little bit, 11:21 but you walk in and then you say my name is Dick 11:23 and everybody says hello Dick you know 11:25 and then they've have a program a little program. 11:29 The thing I loved about it is that you see the group 11:33 around that table is somebody who is going 11:36 through what you are going through. 11:37 Right, but they weren't pouring out all of that 11:39 where they, not to do some details you see 11:42 because I remember, I remember one time 11:44 you know a lady said she was talking about her 11:47 husband and she said people tell me 11:49 I had to divorce to my husband, I know what's 11:51 that I've always got option but I am not coming 11:54 here to talk about my husband, I am coming here 11:56 to talk about me and that's what I really like, 11:59 because and I think it has so much meaning 12:02 when we think of our children is that hey, 12:05 we can't do much about our children, our children 12:07 who they are, but the question is what can I do 12:09 about me, what do you do when your kids 12:12 are taking drugs. Now these were obviously 12:13 when your children are much older and you can 12:16 no longer do what you did when they were just 12:17 little children. You mean like just say 12:20 don't do that, yes, exactly right, 12:23 and so it's not about our children in that we can 12:26 just make them obey or get them to obey 12:28 or bring them under control, it's dealing 12:32 with it when it's way out of your hands anymore. 12:34 You know I probably shared this with you 12:37 before it's kind of joke I made up and I told 12:41 people I said when my children were about 12:43 this big I had a sermon I preach call 12:47 the Ten Commandments for raising children, 12:48 oh yes, and then when they got about you know 12:51 so big I change the title that sermon, 12:54 ten suggestion for raising children. 12:56 You know what the sermon is now, 12:58 ten questions I have about raising children, 13:02 everything changes even they are little you know 13:04 we know at all, but when they get to be big 13:06 you know it's not that way anymore. 13:09 Anyway here I am, believe it or not the 13:12 health and temperance director of the 13:14 Florida Conference, and my boy is taking drugs. 13:18 Go through your mind a great deal, causing some 13:20 pain and embarrassment. Well you see these of 13:23 the kinds of things I think we want to talk 13:25 to in this series is to what do you do it 13:28 and I think that the natural tendency that 13:30 we all have is to say I don't want anybody 13:32 to know, because I am probably the one 13:35 and so I hide it, and I think that it's a mistake 13:43 because Kathy in the first place we are not the 13:46 only one, yeah, and I think in the church not that, 13:51 it may not be the same you know you can't say 13:53 everybody in the church's has got kids taking drugs, 13:56 but I think everybody in the church now is 13:59 hurting in some ways, in some way, 14:01 don't you think so, oh yes I do, I don't run into 14:03 anyone who isn't in someway. 14:05 And now I know some people will say well 14:07 if we're hearting it's because so much wrong 14:11 with us if we were just following the gospel 14:13 or doing everything the way it should be done, 14:15 right, we wouldn't have any problems, 14:18 but Kathy Jesus was here amongst us doing 14:24 everything the way it was suppose to be done, 14:26 suppose to be done yes and guess who had 14:28 problems. Despised and rejected by men, 14:31 a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief 14:33 finally betrayed murdered. 14:36 He did it the way it was suppose to be done, 14:38 and so I think as parents you know we got this 14:41 ideal and we must have an ideal. 14:43 Well some may say that well Jesus was opposed 14:45 because He did at all right, we are opposed 14:48 because we do too many things wrong, 14:50 what do you think of that? 14:53 Sure, well sure what am I suppose to say to that. 14:55 Well no I suppose that to be honest 14:58 there is no doubt that what we sow we reap, 15:02 that life is a causing effect situation 15:07 and I think we'll talk about this in other 15:08 programs that if I had my life to live again, 15:11 yes, I want to live differently, right, 15:12 but I can't think looking back on it I can't think 15:15 of ever waking up in the morning saying I think 15:18 I want to do it wrong today I think I want to 15:20 mess up my kids life, I think I am I want them 15:22 to be drug addicts, no, no we are just dealing 15:25 with ourselves and growing, 15:26 and we were never parents before and I think 15:30 Kathy one of the really important things 15:32 that those who were been to experiences like 15:36 I am going through, yes, yes, it's not the same, 15:39 it's not the same but it's other stuff. 15:42 Sometimes Betty and I when we talk we say 15:45 how thankful we are that our children don't have 15:47 physical disabilities, or the disability in our 15:50 family if it's not drug addiction anymore 15:53 because we got past that, but it's divorce. 15:56 It's divorce and with all the grandchildren 15:59 and all that sometimes you say oh God, so painful, 16:02 oh God you know keep your mansions you know 16:05 because I think when we are younger we give 16:09 the focus in our lives to I want to get a little 16:12 business or I want to be a success in my 16:15 profession, or I want to get two cars 16:17 or I want to have a boat or you know 16:19 whatever it is, and our kids are just kind 16:21 of growing up you know and then one day, 16:24 we protect them too much, 16:26 because its the way it is, too often it is. 16:29 And so, the one day you get to the point 16:31 in your life and you will say you know all that 16:33 really matters is my children. 16:35 And we learn too late most of the time. 16:39 Too late or too late to live our lives again. 16:41 Yes, well but that's what I mean by too late. 16:45 Well, it's not too late its change. 16:49 Its never too late, it's never too late. 16:51 Now let me tell you one day it was really 16:57 in the morning and I don't know why, 17:00 I guess I saw a light under my son's door 17:03 and I think if he is up you know at 5 O' clock 17:06 in the morning and that's when we were having 17:09 problems with drugs and all, and so I went outside 17:13 and it was still dark the sun wasn't up yet, 17:16 and where I could look in his window you know 17:18 kind of clean dust you know you see perhaps 17:19 it must have been a spooky place, but I looked 17:22 in the window and he was laying on the bed 17:24 on his elbows he had ear phones on 17:26 and seem to be reading and for a flash, 17:29 for a flash I thought he is having his devotions, 17:32 yes, until I saw him flick a cigarette lighter 17:35 and then I knew he was doing crack, 17:40 a crack cocaine and. Did you feel like 17:42 at that moment? And that's where I'm leading 17:44 up to, I saw I think I would rather have him 17:48 dead that what I am seeing here because 17:51 you know you hear these stories about this being 17:54 a living death and just with that minute 17:56 I thought oh if he was dead I wouldn't have 17:58 been going through this I mean that's your reaction 18:00 you know, but how thankful I am because 18:04 in death there isn't no hope, it's finished 18:06 it's closed, but as long as he is alive there 18:08 is hope, with his life and so, and I'm reacting 18:10 to what you said a moment ago you know 18:12 about it's too late, no from what I, 18:15 what I meant and from what I've gone through 18:18 it's too late for me to have little children again, 18:21 right, but it's not too late for me to be a 18:24 father of grown children, and to be the kind 18:27 of father that I ought to be, right. 18:30 But I think it's important for and you know 18:35 out there those who are watching, 18:36 maybe I am the only one who has had this problem, 18:39 no, but I don't think so, no. But I think to the 18:41 parents and the grand parents who are watching 18:44 let's know we are not alone I think it's starts 18:47 there because when we feel we are alone 18:50 that's when we really get to close to Dan you see, 18:53 and so we've got to hide and we can't face it, 18:55 right, we can't let it come out but we can get 18:57 help you know I could have a go its like 18:59 I could go down, you know would you know 19:01 what they think of me, right. No but I'll tell 19:04 the world, you got to get over that, 19:05 I'll tell the world that I went to Al-Anon 19:07 and not only that I'll say you if you get to 19:10 where I was you need to go to. 19:12 And, I think of the text of scripture where 19:15 it says that we ought to share one 19:17 another burdens. So, it used to be in the 19:20 church that, that we thought well the church 19:23 is the perfect place for perfect people. 19:26 And, what about the little saying you know that 19:30 the church is and not a rest home for saints 19:32 but a hospital for sinner, for sinners. 19:35 And I used to think that I misinterpreted that, 19:38 I thought it meant if you want to sin go 19:40 to church, wrong, but the key word is not, 19:43 is not sin, it's hospital, yes, and so I think 19:46 as time goes by and it's the devil does one 19:49 more damage. The church is going to have a lot of 19:53 really wounded and damaged people. 19:55 It's not gonna have perfect people, 19:57 and how do we do what that. 19:58 It's gonna be perfect, I mean it's gonna be 19:59 people with high ideals, but I tell the story 20:03 I say I used to look for perfect people, 20:06 you know I am looking for survivors, yes. 20:09 And so there was a time in which, 20:11 in which you know you came to me and you say 20:14 well or somebody come to me and say well 20:17 you know pray for my boy he is out of the truth 20:20 or pray for my daughter she is taking drugs, 20:22 pat them on their shoulders. 20:24 Didn't take it too serious, that's okay 20:25 no, no I was serious but I didn't feel anything, 20:28 I see, and so and no now somebody begins 20:31 to tell me and I cry with subside, now, 20:33 now you know, Now I know and so if a person says 20:37 to me well all of my, all of my children are Bible 20:40 workers and ministers I can say thank you Jesus 20:42 you know I would, but I am looking for somebody 20:44 who's been through it, right. But isn't the 20:47 scripture you know scripture is so wonderful 20:50 because it says we have a Lord Jesus 20:53 who knows how we feel now. 20:54 Now, when we are talking about drugs 20:55 and all these it's different but suffering 20:58 in a way is generic, suffering is generic, 21:00 so where there has been called, 21:02 what do you mean, well I mean I think the 21:04 sadness is sadness I think that pain is pain. 21:08 Now you know pain can be charged are caused 21:10 by numbers of different things, 21:11 and so remember the little, the little verses 21:15 the spiritual is it nobody knows the trouble 21:19 I've seen, nobody knows but Jesus. 21:22 You know what I say I say everybody knows 21:25 if he would be honest with us, oh yes, 21:26 everybody knows because we are all going 21:28 through it. See, at the office you know 21:33 you walk down the hall and you say 21:34 how are you today, fine lie. 21:42 But you are not going to want them just sit there 21:44 and tell you every thing that's going on you just 21:46 passing in the hall. But sometimes you know 21:48 people will say how are you doing 21:51 and I've of course you suppose to say fine 21:53 see right, yes, and but I want to say do you 21:57 really want to know how I feel, yes, 21:58 and you mean it, oh no but by that time, 22:00 no I mean in side we would like to be able 22:02 to say that I mean it, we would like to be able 22:03 to share, yes, or you mean we would like to say 22:05 we were fine. Well, I would like to say 22:08 I am fine, but when you are feeling like 22:09 this we would like to say do you really want 22:12 to know, do you really want to know, 22:13 and actually be able to say so, to share, 22:15 but you loose lot of friends that way, 22:18 well, that's why you weren't telling them, 22:21 but you and I have shared and you are still 22:23 my friend. Well, where you Dick I am sorry. 22:27 You know and I think there are, 22:28 there are viewers and lots of them, 22:31 lot of them we would rejoice scripture says 22:33 rejoice with those who rejoice, 22:35 but I think most people who are watching 22:38 this program will understand, 22:40 that we can all cry together. 22:41 And we've got to be able to cry together. 22:44 It's that the church, the church is a place 22:46 it's like a hospital, it's where you come 22:49 to get well. And this is where I was in that 22:52 little saying that the church is not a rest home 22:55 for saints, it's a hospital for sinners. 22:57 Now, if a person wants to be a sinner 22:59 don't come to church, if a person likes 23:01 it that way church is not for you, 23:03 willful sinning it's different 23:04 what we thought that. Yeah we are talking about 23:05 sinning with impunity, but the fact is that as the 23:08 days go by I am convinced that we're gonna 23:11 find in the church more and more of us 23:13 wounded people, right, but we're gonna come 23:16 there not to give up, right, because we have 23:19 hope that Jesus will do, we will have there is a, 23:22 you know there is a text of excuse me 23:24 for interrupting. In, yes you are right up 23:27 you and I interrupt each other 23:28 all the time, I know. Anyway listen to this 23:32 you are gonna really like this, 2nd Corinthians 23:36 the first chapter, it's not the first chapter 23:38 third and fourth verse or so is it, that's 23:40 the one I was gonna to bring up 23:42 go ahead, you bring it up. 23:43 Well I had this experience and this particular 23:47 scripture kept cropping up over the next two years 23:50 and it just by someone handing it to me 23:53 what happen in Sabbath school class some one 23:55 handed it to me on a piece of paper that was 23:57 a third time it happened. And, this kept coming 24:01 because we had gone through a very hard 24:04 situation and we were grieving and we needed 24:08 comfort, yes, so go ahead and read it now, 24:11 and I, yeah go ahead and read it, now that 24:13 you kind of let into it and let's see I think 24:16 what you've just said that you haven't been 24:18 through of what I've been through with your kids 24:21 taking drugs, not at all, no not at all, 24:22 you got these lovely daughter, but did yeah, 24:23 but you've been so suffering, 24:25 you know what is like to be kind of discourage 24:27 and feel all alone and here is the text. 24:30 1 Corinthians or 2 Corinthians 1 verses 3 24:33 and 4, Blessed [be] God, even the Father of 24:37 our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all mercies, 24:40 and the God of all comfort. 24:43 Oh don't we need to be comforted, amen. 24:45 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, 24:50 who comforteth us in all our tribulation that 24:53 we may be able to comfort them that are 24:56 in any trouble, and that was the answer, 24:58 by the comfort wherewith all we ourselves 25:01 are comforted. And so Kathy when I think 25:05 of what Betty and I have been went through, 25:08 then you need to think of, when we get to 25:10 heaven if you get, Cain and Abel, we need to think 25:13 of Cain and Abel. Well the scripture think 25:15 of the scripture is full of it. 25:17 Must been how Adam felt, 25:19 and how God Himself felt when assert of his 25:21 only children, right, we are in good company. 25:24 In other words you can say well the fact that 25:26 mine children have had trouble or they are out 25:27 of the church must mean that I am a bad guy, 25:30 no I just go back through scripture beginning 25:32 in heaven with the father of the soul 25:34 who lost assert of his children, right, 25:36 and then Adam and Eve, and we need 25:38 to think this why. Well, not that we're going 25:41 to say well hey I am just one no it breaks 25:44 our hearts. Well it's not gonna turn us all joyfully 25:47 in a moment either just because we think about 25:49 somebody else having gone through it, 25:51 but we do need to be able to know others that 25:54 I felt what we felt. So we can comfort each other, 25:57 yes. You know I thought of Adam and Eve 26:00 and hear they had their boy they get their 26:01 first boy, he leaves the church forever 26:05 and you know the one that we love 26:06 and respect so much one of the finding mothers 26:08 of our church Ellen G. White, 26:09 Did you know she had a boy named Edson, 26:12 and he wrote a letter one time and she said 26:14 it broke my heart, when I read that, 26:16 she said I am not interested in spiritual 26:17 things mother, and this is the one of the 26:20 founding mothers of our church, and how she felt, 26:22 oh and she said if you could just be a 26:24 little baby again, oh, if I could just hold 26:25 you again and take, and I thought to myself 26:27 is we've been through this with our children 26:29 I felt only if I can just hold them again 26:32 if I could just, but we can't we can't the fact 26:35 is I don't have little babies I've got grown 26:38 men and women I've got grand children. 26:41 I can just look back to the point where I drive 26:43 myself crazy but I got to say no, 26:45 no I'm gonna keep going I better be comforted, 26:49 yes, God comforts and I'm gonna comfort 26:52 others amen, amen. We're gonna strengthen 26:54 each other, this is no time for us to, 26:55 to pretend the nothing is wrong, right I am fine 26:59 how are you Dick, fine oh no, no I am not fine, 27:02 but I have faith in God, that I will be fine, 27:06 yes, because he is not finished with out 27:08 children yet, right, and he who has began 27:10 this good work in us will finish it, amen. 27:12 You know our time is already over, 27:15 and we are going to be doing some other 27:17 programs right. And I want to invite our 27:19 guest back with us, our viewers and the programs 27:23 that we're gonna to they are gonna be touching 27:24 your heart. I pray that you will cry a tear along 27:28 with us and as you've been going through 27:30 things that you will learn more about 27:31 comforting others and be able to overcome 27:34 and remember that you are not alone, 27:35 that we're not. And Dick I wish you would pray 27:39 as we go out and bow your head 27:41 and pray with us. Heavenly Father, 27:43 we are thankful Lord that we walk through 27:45 the valley of the shadow of deepest gloom 27:48 that we need fear no evils for you with us. 27:51 And our Lord when we pray that you keep 27:54 your mansions with we are not trying to be 27:56 you ever it's just that we want you to 27:58 save our children, amen. 28:00 This is the burden you gave us. |
Revised 2014-12-17