Humor

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After listening to the latest round of political speeches, I was appalled at how much trouble we have in this country. I had no idea our country was as bad as they portrayed it.

Turning to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, I whispered, "My Dear, we need to leave this country and do it tonight."

Then, listening to the State of the Union address by our president, I was amazed at how good things were progressing. Every problem was being dealt with, and things were only going to get better.

Both can't be right and both can't be wrong. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Neither the Democrats nor Republicans have made our country great, as both parties want us to believe. The secret to the greatness of this country is simply hard working Americans.

If both parties were to go to the Great Political Caucus in the Sky, I would shed tears of joy, and this world would be a better place.

While reveling in such thoughts, I heard one presidential contender remark on the State of the Union address about a "big stick." He commented that if we, meaning Americans, carried our "big stick," the world would not respect us. In fact, he pontificated, the world would resent it and hate us in the offing.

Maybe he's right. I don't know, but it reminded me of an incident in my youth.

As a youth we had a man in our church we called Gentle George. The biggest thing about George when you first met him was his smile.

We called him Gentle George because he was the gentlest person in our congregation. He always carried with him a humongous grin that splashed all over his face. In fact, I've seen times when his face could not contain the grin.

One of the great memories of Gentle George was the time he took all the junior high boys to a mountain retreat for a weekend of camping. "Forgive him, Father, he knoweth not what he doeth."

Weeks before the big event, we were energized. To our way of thinking, this represented an opportunity of a lifetime.

Our challenge for the weekend was to drive Gentle George crazy. After all, that's what junior boys do better than anything or anyone else.

Collectively, we put together a list of 75 things we could do over the weekend to do the job. I can't remember all the things on the list; I only remember most of them were pretty knarly.

We did not dislike Gentle George, quite the reverse. We simply assumed gentleness was the same as weakness. That weekend we were to learn differently.

We tried settling down when we got to the cabin, but the excitement proved too much for us. We ran a lottery to see which item on the list would push Gentle George over the edge.

Along about 1:30 a.m. we heard from Gentle George's room a quiet voice, "Fellows, you ought to get some sleep. We've a big day tomorrow and you'll need your rest."

The explosion of giggles lasted almost a full hour.

Right after breakfast, George had a short time of devotions with us. He read some Bible verses and explained them to us. Then he led us in prayer for the day.

As usual, we were edgy and anxious to get to the activities of the day, namely, driving Gentle George crazy.

Much to our surprise, right after devotions, George made a startling announcement. "Now, boys, before we start, I want to show you something I think you will find interesting. Rusty, would you bring me that telephone book?"

Then he had Rusty pass the book to every boy, to look at carefully. Of course, we did not have a clue as to what we were looking for.

"Now, Rusty," George began, "you're about the biggest boy in the group." With that, Rusty's chest stuck out so far he couldn't see his shoes.

"Rusty, I want you to tear that phone book in half."

Rusty looked at George as if he were just joshing him.

"No, go ahead," George urged, "tear the book in half."

Rusty strained and groaned while the rest of the boys cheered him on. Rusty hardly bent a page of the telephone book, which must have been at least four inches thick.

Finally, Rusty gave up and George took the telephone book from him.

"You know, boys," he said, "it takes a lot of strength to tear something like this in half." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Then, as quick as a wink, right before our widening eyes, George broke the back of that telephone book and tore it in half.

It was the most amazing thing any of us had seen up to that time.

"Mr. George," one boy yelled, "how'd ya' do that?"

George only smiled. From then on all the boys in the church called him Mr. George.

That weekend camping trip turned out to be the best I ever experienced. We learned a new respect for Mr. George.

As I think about it, I'm not too sure but what Mr. George knew what he was doing all the time.

It reminds me of what the Old Testament Prophet said, "This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6 KJV.)

God has demonstrated His power to us over and over again, which has earned my respect.

The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road in Silver Springs Shores.

He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores and can be contacted by calling 687-4240. Rev. Snyder's new book, "Romance Around A Parsonage Fireplace," is now available. Call for details.

The church web site is: www.whatafellowship.com

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