THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

July 16, 2025

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Blessings can come in very unexpected ways.

Recently, I've been thinking about the seven years that my mom battled cancer. She was diagnosed when I was 8 years old and passed away when I was 15. Some things I remember, but lately I've talked to a couple of my sisters who reminded me or shared things that I had forgotten or didn't know. God showed up so many times to bless our family during those years.

One hot summer, a man from our community came to our house and gave us a brand new window air conditioner unit. We lived in a small house and didn't have central heat and air, but only used box fans and open windows. Daddy installed the air conditioner in the living room, where mama spent a lot of time lying on the couch. That was such a blessing and kept her much more comfortable during those hot days; as well as the rest of our family.

The thing is, that man wasn't a christian and never went to church, to my knowledge. But my dad and an uncle had gone to court to speak on his behalf at one time. They had been a friend to him, when other church people weren't showing Jesus to him as much as they should. My sister later wrote him a letter thanking him for his act of kindness in blessing our family with that A/C unit.

We remember meals being brought to our house. The last several weeks (seems like months, in my mind) before mama passed away, we didn't have much money and it seems like we ate pinto beans every night for supper. I remember a cousin and his wife bringing us a pot roast with potatoes and carrots, and a red velvet cake. My sisters remember someone bringing us lasagna, which is something we hadn't eaten often at that time.

Once there was a couple from our church who brought us a ton of groceries -- everything imaginable from food items to toilet paper to laundry detergent to dish soap.

Our community had a benefit singing for us. There were singers from all the area churches and a love offering was taken and given to our family.

There was a woman, who was a county nurse, who came to our house 2-3 times a week during the last few weeks of mama's life to check on mama and help with her care.

So many examples of people loving our family and doing what they could to walk beside us during a difficult time to encourage and help us.

My sister, Linda, received God's help in a most unexpected way. I didn't know about this until recently. She had quit her job so that she could stay home and care for mama. Mama was bedfast for the last 3-4 months of her life. She was hospitalized the beginning part of December and the family was told that she only had a month to live. It was February 22^nd when she passed away. Prior to her being hospitalized that last time, Mama was worried about the daily care of her colostomy. Linda would tell her not to worry about it, but knew in her heart that she would have to be the one to irrigate and clean it daily... which wasn't a pleasant job. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to do it. One morning she was the only one with Mama, during her hospital stay. A nurse came in to take care of Mama's colostomy and she had a group of student nurses with her. She was going to show them what to do. Linda asked if she could watch and told the nurse that she was the one who was going to have to do it when Mama got home. The nurse was very kind and showed her exactly what to do and explain everything to her. Linda said in that moment she thought, "If these nurses, who don't even know Mama, can do this for her, then I know that I can!" Right then she had peace and knew that she was going to be able to do it. God placed her in Mama's room at the exact time that she needed to be there. No, cleaning Mama's colostomy wasn't pleasant nor something she wanted to do, but God gave her the grace and help needed to perform this necessary task for Mama.

There were some oddball people who showed up at our house on occasion. We aren't really sure how some of them knew about us or why they came.

One man came and told Mama if she would get up and bake him some cookies, she would be healed. Another man said he had power flowing through his hands and if he touched Mama then she would be healed. We have no idea who either of these men were or how they found our house.

You may read that and think, "Where's the blessing in that?!" I thank God that our family was established enough spiritually and and had discernment to not be disturbed by this or allow them to weaken our faith. Only God remembers and knows who those men were, and only He knows their heart and the intent of their heart. Perhaps they were sincere and truly thought they had heard from God and were trying to step out in faith in their ministry; or perhaps they had dishonest intentions. But their showing up didn't affect the faith of our family in any way. We prayed for Mama's healing, but had put our trust and faith in God for His will to be done -- although we all desired her healing and that was our will. Our confidence was not in some man, stranger or not.

I encourage you to look back over the events of your life; both the good and bad. Think of the details and see how God was involved in every aspect. We often don't see His hand at work during those moment, although at times we do; but in hindsight, we can look back and see His blessings, protection, and involvement in our situation. See God in the details, both big and small, and let that be an encouragement to you for things you may face in the future.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

I wish I had gotten to know Loretta's mother. But I'm glad I did get to know her dad. He was a humble man in most ways, but he was always a hard worker, and had pride in earning his way. I'm sure it was very difficult for him to accept groceries, an A/C unit, nursing help, and cash. But he was humble enough to do it.

And it's a good thing he did accept those gifts. When someone goes out on a limb to give help where it is needed, it can feel insulting to have it rejected. And it may make it harder for them to give again. I know I've enjoyed helping others when needed. And I would feel hurt if they refused it when I knew they really needed help.

In fact, I got to participate in helping Doyal (Loretta's dad). I don't remember the exact occasion; probably his birthday. But as many of us who were available went to his home, and did a variety of chores. Some of us used a mower; some a weedeater; some helped with a garden; some fixed broken things around the house, yard, and barn. Whatever we were able to do, we did. And we didn't let him help. It was a great day, and a lot of fun.

My point is, be glad to help others, but also be glad to accept help from them. Blessings work for both parties that way.

ON THE MENEWE:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Press the cookie dough onto greased springform pan.

Mix cream cheese, eggs, sugar and 3/4 of toffee bits (if you can't find the bits, you can chop a Heath candy bar). Pour over cookie crust.

Top with remaining toffee bits.

Bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes. Chill, then refrigerate until cold.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

When one of my uncles was about 6-7 years old, the preacher asked if any of the Parton boys had a special song to sing. He jumped up and walked to the front of the church and sang, "I washed my hands this morning, I washed them clean and bright. I lift them up to Jesus, for Him to see them right." He did all of the hand motions, and when he "lifted them up to Jesus", he had little dirty hands.... that hadn't been washed quite so clean and bright. From my understanding, the family was surprised when he jumped up to sing, because this was his first time ever singing in church.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Do not let your heart be troubled;

Trust in God, and trust also in Me. John 14:1

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org