Among Christians, Sunday is a day of rest and worship. Set aside especially for church attendance, it is also described as the best day to sleep.
Sundays are always the most difficult for me. Such was one particular morning in Jackson, Georgia ...
My routine was rudely interrupted by the telephone. I turned over and looked at the alarm clock. 4:00 A.M! I was not amused.
I tried to go back to sleep, but the telephone kept ringing. So I answered it.
"This is the Lamar County Sheriff's Department."
I was expecting my husband home from Alabama. Maybe it was a matter of life and death.
"Your husband asked me to call you. He is stranded at The Rock (a small community), halfway between Thomaston and Barnesville on Highway 36."
"He has a flat tire. Would you please come pick him up?" (Actually the tire and wheel was stuck on the axle and would not come off!)
Reluctantly, I answered, "Yes."
Although he needed me, I was an unwilling Samaritan. Why didn't he contact my parents? They lived in Barnesville. It was much closer for them to pick him up.
Rain poured like the proverbial "cats and dogs." I was forced out on the dark wet road in the midst of a thunderstorm.
While driving to The Rock, however, I really began to think seriously.
Stranded at The Rock with a flat tire. The tire, being broken, caused him to ask for help. Stranded -- he was in a helpless position. Without protection, he was capable of being injured. Furthermore, he was able to ask for help without fear of embarassment.
In moments of crisis, the need for help overrides any other feeling. The need for stability arises. Who remains constant in a changing world?
The Rock. Something firm like a rock provides defense against attack, danger, or injury. That Rock was Christ.
Ironically, at daybreak, I experienced renewal.
"And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by me, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by." Exodus 33:22 (KJV)
"There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God." 1 Samuel 2:2 (KJV)
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