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Today I was surprised by a song. It overstimulated my tear ducts. I heard it on my truck radio. Last year it was very popular.
I heard it for the first time this year and it still moved me.
It was Newsong’s “The Christmas Shoes.” Do you remember it?
Christmas Shoes by Newsong
It was almost Christmas time
There I stood in another line
Trying to buy that last gift or two
Not really in the Christmas mood.
Standing right in front of me
Was a little boy waiting anxiously
Pacing around like little boys do
And in his hands he had a pair of shoes.
And his clothes were worn and old
He was dirty from head to toe
And when it came his time to pay
I couldn’t believe what I heard him say.
Sir, I want to buy these shoes, for my Momma please
It’s Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her style
Could you hurry Sir? Daddy says there’s not much time
You see, she’s been sick for quite a while.
I know these shoes will make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful
If Momma meets Jesus tonight.
They counted pennies for what seemed like years
And the cashier said, Son there’s not enough here
He searched his pockets franticly
Then he turned and he looked at me.
He said, Momma made Christmas good at our house
Though most years she just did without
Tell me Sir, what am I gonna do?
Some how I gotta buy her these Christmas shoes.
So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out
And I’ll never forget the look on his face
When he said, “Momma’s gonna look so great.”
Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Momma please
It’s Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her style
Could you hurry Sir? Daddy says there’s not much time
You see, she’s been sick for quite a while.
And I know these shoes will make her smile
I want her to look beautiful
If Momma meets Jesus tonight.
I knew I caught a breathe of heaven’s love
As he thanked me and ran out
I knew that God had sent that little boy to remind me
What Christmas is all about.
Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Momma please
It’s Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her style
Could you hurry Sir? Daddy says there’s not much time
You see, she’s been sick for quite a while.
And I know these shoes will make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful
If Momma meets Jesus tonight.
I want her to look beautiful
If Momma meets Jesus tonight.
Men have a common characteristic which courses through their veins. We are not cheap. Rather we like the challenge of fixing things ourselves.
Once long ago but forever seared in my memory, I tried to fix a toilet. It was never working right. Constantly through the night, you could hear the water running. The perpetual leaking sound was just like my ancestral invention of water torture.
I surmised that this was a simple problem. Like everything else in life, someone must have written a book on how to fix this sort of thing. On a rare free Saturday I read through a manual on fixing toilets. I was ready to spring into action.
Down in my garage I collected my tools and headed up to the bathroom. After removing the reservoir cover, I drained the water and took a long look at the inner workings of the flushing mechanism.
Something was very wrong with this picture. Everything was similar to the diagrams in the book that I read. However, specific pieces did not match in shape or location in real time. I needed a plan B.
My pickup truck delivered me to the local hardware store. Signs directed me to plumbing supplies. Once I was there the confusion expanded to new heights.
Parts were of every size, dimension and configuration that the human mind could conceive. Most would have brought worn parts to match with the new pieces that needed to be purchased. Not me. I was a post graduate educated professor, highly trained in observation skills. I was trusting my memory.
I gathered every replacement piece that was similar to the parts that I thought that I needed. Then, I compared each item and decided which ones that I would purchase. It is amazing that whatever won the selection contest happened to be the least expensive. Isn’t that a coincidence?
In the next many hours I reconstructed the inside of the flush system of the reservoir tank as best as I could recall. With everything tightened up, I prayed. Then, I turned on the water and was so relieved that everything held together. The next moment was priceless.
I stepped into the bedroom, held my pipe wrench in the air and announced to my wife, “Just call me Bruce the Plumber!” She responded, “That’s nice dear.” Then, the toilet flushed itself.
Eager for HIS Return!
Bruce Fong
Over a recent weekend I was the guest of some wonderful friends. They have a magnificent ranch in the woods and invite me to join them every year for a few days of rest and relaxation. From the busy fast-paced life that I live, this opportunity for some repose is one that I never turn down.
In the guest room where I unpacked my bag is a picture. Clearly there is a theme to the room coordinating all of the finishing touches, bedspread, furnishings, and of course the wall hangings.
At the center of the picture is an English Springer Spaniel. She is alone in the woods. There are no humans in the painting. The only evidence of human presence is the collar on the dog. The woods are undisturbed by civilization, the ground cover is marked by natural growth of native flora, fallen trees, and a rotting log.
Something has alerted the Spaniel. She is frozen in time at a moment when scent arrests all of her natural movement and she is zeroing in on its source. Just before she goes into her point, she has her head raised, cocked sharply to the left. Her ears are erect, tail is partially raised, and her right front paw has stopped in mid-air.
Personally, I have witnessed these magnificent animals in action. From a layman’s perspective I appreciate the inner desire of such an animal to perform according to the Creator’s design. Men build on this innate skill and then train these dogs to avoid all distractions. No squirrel, rabbit, or chipmunk will deter them from the pursuit of their appointed quarry.
In this picture the star of the canvas points to the ruffled grouse perfectly camouflaged near the rotting log at the bottom of the picture. Trying to use its terrain and God-given coloring to remain unseen, it is at a disadvantage to the great scent detector. Years of successful experience has given the Springer all the capacity to search, locate and point out the quarry.
She is in her element. Her gifts are in active use. Soon her master will realize that she has stopped and come to a point.
God has created each of us with a capacity that can be put to good use. He equips and gifts us to live productive effective lives whether others are watching or not. We just need to find our element, enter it and act accordingly.
Eager for HIS Return!
Bruce Fong
Sometimes it’s nice when the weather man is wrong.
The other night I was wrapped up in a social dinner. We were entertaining a business associate. It was our first meeting together.
She is an agent of Institutional Assessment for our gate-keeping accreditation agency. That’s professional talk for quality control in an educational setting. The evening was progressing along famously.
During our meal typical social conversation included politics, sports, hobbies, children, history and holiday festivities. Suddenly, the topic of weather burst on the scene. Someone announced that it was snowing outside!
We all asked each other, “Did the weatherman predict this?” No one remembered that he did. But, it was a good missed forecast. This was our first snow of the season. We were all delighted! If the meteorological computers missed this prediction the Creator certainly knew what He was doing.
My seat was perfectly situated so that I could watch the accumulation of snow. Clumps of snowflakes were falling to the ground. Each deposit melted immediately on the still somewhat warm bricks. But the constant freezing temperatures of the snow overwhelmed the heat of the patio and soon a blanket of white took over the red brick pavers.
Once our evening came to an end, my wife and I exited the hotel lobby. The snow was tapering off dramatically. Slushy watery snow covered the ground so I invited my wife to wait under the awning while I retrieved our vehicle and gave her curb side service. I didn’t want her to be fearful of slipping on the slick new-fallen snow.
Scurrying across the parking lot and making sure of each step, I caught a glimpse of one residual snow flake. It was fluttering down from the heavens, looking a bit lost and out of place in that huge dark sky. It was within reach.
My timing was perfect and angle of my tongue to snatch it out of the air was precise. But, just at the moment, a gust of wind, a reverberation of its downward glide, skimmed it away from my licking tongue. I missed!
Clearly I am out of practice when it comes to licking snowflakes out of midair flight. There will be many more times to practice in the coming season. I smiled.
Eager for HIS Return!
Bruce Fong
Someone just needs to decide. That’s a fact for everyone who leads.
Visibility for a leader is a big factor. I want all of my people who run an operation to know that I am there to cheer them on. My people know their jobs well. They are skilled at what they do. That’s a fact.
Sometimes my people trick me with aesthetic questions. Everyone knows that my aesthetic answers make no sense. When God passed out an eye for colors, shapes, combinations, accents, and arranging, I must have been out fishing.
No matter how confidently I agree, disagree or suggest, all of my people know that I am not only out in right field but often out of the park altogether. They find it amusing. That’s also a fact.
My confidence is not shaken. Walking around an event like our recent fund-raising banquet, gives me a chance to thank our workers. There are countless opportunities to pass out compliments, give assurances, and to notice the great detail of the team effort. This is my time to cheer their spirit. I thank God for each and every one of them. That’s another fact.
Leadership invests in the work of the team. Expertise in every aspect of our ministry is needed but no one person has all of those skills. At least I know for a fact that I don’t.
For me it is gratifying to watch my staff in action. They are very good at what they do. Occasionally, I contribute an idea or supplement a thought. These are sincere moments of input. I only ask you to accept facts.
Emboldened by a leader who is sold out for them launches the best that people can give. Appreciation from a leader who sincerely values their work, is satisfying beyond the monthly paycheck. Everyone who works for someone else knows this fact to be true.
No books needs be written on my leadership style. I borrowed it from many sources. But, that isn’t as important as the choices that I make to come alongside those to whom I delegate and cheer them on to great things.
My people make so many decisions. When a tough one comes and they come to me, I will definitely help them decide. The fact is, a big part of my job as a problem-solver is just to decide.
Eager for HIS Return!
Bruce Fong
Thanksgiving is full of visuals.
The horn of plenty is a popular Thanksgiving icon. Pouring out of a basket woven in the shape of a gourd are every kind of food from the field. Corn, squash, apples, pears, tomatoes, potatoes, and all varieties of nuts are well represented. Someone must know what all is included in this amazing collection.
Of course there is the image of the Thanksgiving dinner. The center piece is a massive golden brown turkey. All of the fixings fill the table: mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, creamed corn, tossed green salad, gravy boats filled to the brim. There must be an inventory of all this food.
Hugs between family and friends is a huge Thanksgiving visual. Long days between holidays brings loved ones into a warm embrace. They last long enough and tight enough to make up for missing each other over the months that have slipped passed too quickly. Is there a record of all the love that goes on here?
Coat trees that are full of jackets, hats, and scarves tell us that Thanksgiving is here. A crowded table with every head bowed in prayer is a telltale sign that Thanksgiving is here.
But, it’s not really about the food, the tradition or the celebration of history. We always laugh at how little of a dent we actually make in the bountiful fare. With enough Thanksgiving celebrations behind us, we all know that this season is about something else.
My Guardian Angel knows. This special companion hears my every prayer. Every request for lives that I love passes from my lips to God’s ear and is heard by my angelic friend. Most will never know the depth and length of my devotion to these prayer requests because those conversations remain secretly locked in the channel to the throne of grace. But, my Angel knows.
The year is too long to recall every answered prayer. My recollection can’t bring them all to mind. I remember a lot. But, my Angel remembers them all.
Angels are real. That is a fact. How else can any of us even comprehend the magnitude of our necessary gratitude when we finally arrive in heaven?
I am eager to meet my Angel in heaven, face to face and perhaps we can recall together all that God has done. Then, I’ll be thankful all over again. That’s what Thanksgiving is all about for me: many answered prayers. My Angel knows.
Eager for HIS Return!
Bruce Fong
My first trip to Michigan was a painful one that has forever marked my empathy for others.
On the first morning of my visit I bounced out of my hotel bed and hit the shower. I bent over to wash my feet and the pain bit me like a wild animal tearing living flesh. It was my back. For the first of many excruciating days back pain had become a part of my life. I asked God to heal me.
If I sat down, I couldn’t get back up. When I needed something on the floor like a sock or shoe it was a major effort to get it into my hand. Then, the follow through to bend over and put it on my foot nearly took my breath away. There was no part of dressing that was automatic. Each article of clothing took a strategic plan and a detailed operational scheme to implement it. I asked God for the gift of levitation.
My youngest son found these episodes quite entertaining. He laughed at my slow methodical movements. The teasing was incessant. When I rose to my feet with the help of a cane, he jumped up, did several toe touches to show off his limberness, and ran off laughing like a hyena who had just stolen a lion’s meat. Such is one of the dastardly qualities of youth. I asked God for special dispensation for just one act of assault.
There is a good side to all of this pain. When I see a friend with that distinguishable hitch in their gait, I pause and pray. None of us likes to require the help of others, but at times we need it. I ask God to heal my friend.
Back pain has revisited my routine too many times. Now, I am skilled by experience to recognize the walk, the posture, the grimace, the moan and the forced smile. I feel their every discomfort. I discuss with God the merits of suffering and suggest several easier methods of learning.
When I tell such a soul that I am praying, I tell them the truth. At just the right moment I pass on what I learned. It is best to see their doctor as soon as possible. No man can slay this dragon on their own. Go get help. Take the drugs and get the relief. I thank God for very bright doctors.
Eager for HIS Return!
Bruce Fong
The other day I was enjoying a beautiful Autumn evening here in my amazing state of Michigan. Dusty, our famous Lhasa Apso, a canine with unusual scribal skills, needed a last minute outside business stop before bedtime. One deep breath of the the night air and a long exhale also freshened me up.
Looking around at our very green backyard, my attention curiously locked on to our neighbor’s split rail fence. His property backs up against ours. A row of trees, a babbling brook and this aging boundary marker separates our real estate tax obligations.
Eight years, four months and twenty days ago I moved to Michigan. That fence was new then, still looking like fresh split lumber. The trees that lined the creek were mere saplings and we had a clear view of our neighbor’s back yard.
Today, those saplings have towered above the horizon. If this was someone’s first look, one might assume that acres of woods lay on the other side of the stream. The fence has grown soft from exposure to the rugged Michigan seasons. Comparing the fence and the trees, it is an amazing contrast. Although both are wood, the trees are thriving and the wooden fence is deteriorating.
The future of the trees is bright, but the divider is destined to be discarded. The Creator keeps the trees maintained, my neighbor is struggling to keep the boundary line from crumbling.
There’s a similarity in substance but a stark contrast of durability. The difference is life. Vigor flows through the limbs of the trees, while moss and rot convert the molecular substance of the lumber. Trees grow stronger and taller, lumber eventually crumbles and shrinks into disrepair.
Wooden fences are good. They have a definite purpose. But, its durability is limited. They are wood from a tree but dead wood. A day comes soon when it can no longer do what it was intended to do.
Human existence is similar. If life courses through our soul we reflect that vigor. If we sit and maintain, there is little hope for our future. Are we really living? Blood is pumping through our blood vessels. But, is life flowing through the veins of our soul? Live life by living.
Eager for HIS Return!
Bruce Fong
Whenever the media makes fun of a high level official nodding off at an important meeting, I’m a little offended.
My offense is not that some public servant is being picked on. It’s much more personal than that. Nor am I at all convinced that this is partisan-driven. No matter which party is in office the cameras like to capture someone who is falling asleep while on the job.
One of the most memorable related stories of someone asleep on the job is cataloged as a legend from my seminary training. An elderly professor who was designated to teach a preaching class became part of student lore. Poor guy, he never had a chance.
Apparently, when the students were preaching one after the next, this professor must have had more than his fill of sermons from fledgling students. He did more than just nod off, he fell fast asleep.
The students took advantage of the situation and stole quietly out of the classroom. No one knows what happened next. That’s an emendation in seminary history.
Sleep deprivation intrudes on all of our lives. When I see students nodding off in my class, I assure them that they should not fight it. They obviously need their sleep more than my lecture.
There’s nothing more distracting than a student with a gross lack of sleep slipping into a semi-comatose state and doing the yo-yo head bounce during class. He might as well succumb to the inevitable, rest his head comfortably on his desk and not put himself in danger of a self-inflicted whiplash neck injury.
I heard about how our Army Rangers fight their need for sleep. When, they have been assigned guard duty after a long hard day, they can’t fall asleep or their comrades are put in mortal danger. A Ranger pulls out his knife, plants the handle in their viselike grip and rests his chin over it. Whenever they nod off the knife makes its point and they are awake for another 12 minutes at least.
I’ve got to leave that case of military Ka-bar knives out of the classroom or our accreditation watch dogs will look very dimly on our teaching techniques. Maybe I’ll just surrender to the principle that God intended man to sleep a minimum number of hours each day and some of those hours are going to take place in the classroom.
Eager for HIS Return!
Bruce Fong
Bumper stickers say it so well . . . most of the time . . . OK, once in a blue moon.
When a bumper sticker nails it, an itch that’s been annoying us for a long time finally gets scratched. A certain combination of words exactly describes personal feelings.
You can’t change your selection too often. Few of us want our cars to look like a well worn travel suitcase with stickers from every stop that it’s made. Too much clutter hides the powerful words that we would want others to remember.
Dilute our impact with quantity and the quality of reaction diminishes greatly. So, we made a careful selection, just the right bumper sticker for a personal public testimony. Here is a favorite: Stop Global Whining.
Life is too full of opportunity to waste energy on complaining. Negative words rarely achieve anything worthwhile. Those who whine are never at a loss for material. They moan about government, spouses, children, work, traffic, the weather, church, you, me, etc.
Have you hung around whiners and tried to cheer them up? It’s impossible, isn’t it? They turn on us like a magnet gathering iron shavings. We get sucked into something that’s a hot button for them. Suddenly our intent to do something good evolves into something that gets us heated up. Yipes!
There’s a good reason to stop global whining. It’s dangerously contagious! Maybe one of the reasons that they are so infectious is that they are always using words, lots of words to moan about this or that. The rest of us who are hopeful, optimistic, positive do so mostly with quiet determination.
Come to think of it, those affirming types that I know just keep plugging away. They rarely trumpet their glow, it just shows. Maybe the grinding sound of whiners is nothing but a mere distraction. Instead, let’s look for the shining of the positives. Rather than responding to the diversion of pessimism, we can deliberately step into the world of the encouragers.
That’s it. Bumper stickers gives to the world exactly what it needs, just a few words. Succinctly, marginally, and without any more effort than it deserves, we can smile, chuckle and dismiss the culture of whining because someone put words to what we all feel. It says it well and then it’s done. So, let’s just smile and get busy living a God-blessed life that is filled with joy, delight, and everything positive!
Eager for HIS Return!
Bruce Fong
