Encouragement

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My Anchors
By Lynn Wallace

Had a tornado struck! Every desk drawer lay upside down, its contents strewn about on the floor. I felt rice crunch under my feet.

My anchors, Regee and Gina, had just brought me home from our Wednesday night prayer meeting. Since my car had a ruined tire and required many other repairs, Regee and Gina toted me all over in their red Ford crewcab.

These anchors have shown kindness to me in many ways. When I moved into my mobile home, the front yard was unkept. I bought sod. Regee, Gina, and I hauled away stones from the former river bed. Mom helped us lay sod. We spent an entire day at this task.

Another day we spent putting up a shed. The wind threatened to blow away the metal sheets and tear my shed to bits. By all working together, we made the building stand firm.

Still, another time we spent one day moving things into a mini-storage unit. Regee built shelves for this project to house boxes. These sacrifices of their time showed me that they truly love God.

Gina looks at a situation. She draws a pattern in her head. This good friend figured out how to keep mice out from under my sink. Regee helped her put it into place. It worked! Now I see no evidence of mice in my house.

After I discovered the work of vandals, I ambled down the hallway in a daze and heard water running. It came from the overflowing bathtub. A sickening odor wafted up to my nostrils. Later, I espied a shampoo bottle and other stuff floating on top.

I took a couple of steps toward the bedroom and stopped. I did not want to risk breaking something as I stared into the room in shock. Surely a tornado had struck!

Feeling somewhat dizzy from shock, somehow I made my way back to the front with my insides reeling. Breathing a sigh of relief, At once I peered out the front door. “Regee, Gina” I exclaimed, “Come into the house with me.” They had brought me home and waited for me in their red Ford pickup.

They walked into my mobile home with me. The sound of running water reached my ears. After this I saw that the water almost poured over the kitchen sink onto the floor. At once I shut the faucet off. Oh no! I thought as I saw papers floating in the kitchen sink. Someone had propped the refrigerator door open with a chair. I removed the chair.

In my office books and several pieces of linens lay on the floor. However, the vandals left my computer untouched. I believe God protected it.

Next I waded into the bathroom and shut off the tub water. In the meantime Regee and Gina viewed the scene in the bedroom.

Regee said, “Things were in such disarray it looked like a tornado had hit the room. Drawers from a dresser and chest had been turned upside down with contents of various kinds of clothing and other articles strewn all over the room.”

“Call the sheriff,” Gina suggested. I called him.

A carton of powdered milk sat in the living room with its contents on the rug. A hymnbook lay open. I started to close the hymnbook. However, I knew I needed to control myself and wait for the sheriff. I waited.

He came and viewed the garage heap, filed his report, and left. However, the law served not as an anchor. They did nothing about these vandals.

After the deputy left, I mopped up the water standing in the bathroom. I ended up with a dripping skirt.

I said to my kind friends, “I can’t stay here tonight.”

They said, “Do you want to stay at our house?”

“Please take me to Mom's house.” I called Mom and told her what happened. I ventured back into the bedroom to grab what I needed for an overnight stay at Mom’s. I threw things on the bed to make a path to the closet. How can I find anything to wear in this mess? I wondered.

Then I rumaged around for a dry skirt and changed. I grabbed clothes for an overnight stay at Mom’s. I threw a few cosmetics in my bag. How could I find any undies? I thought. Then I spotted a ragged pair in my drawer. It will do, I thought, and I tossed it in my bag.

“Don't you think you need a jacket?” Gina gently reminded me. I grabbed one, anxious to get away from this horrid pigsty.

The next morning Regee and Gina showed up at Mom's house. We went over to my mobile home and labored until 4:00 in the afternoon. They supported me as with an anchor, getting my place back in order.

Gina and I scrubbed floors, the bathtub, and kitchen sink. We straightened up the living room and other rooms. One of us vacuumed the carpet..

Regee even cleaned out the heating ducts that were filled with muck and debris. He said that the water run the entire length of the heating ducts.

Someone consoled me the night following the “tornado” with an anchor greater than Regee or Gina could provide. The Anchor of my soul gave sweet rest all night. I awoke with peace and joy in my heart, and a smile on my face. As He revived the body of Jairus' daughter, He revived my soul.

As my friends, Regee and Gina, showed kindness to me, God wants us to follow their example. He says to me, “Be ye kind one to another,” (Eph. 4:32).

These kind actions of my friends makes me consider my own self. Do I love God as much? How have I encouraged someone else lately? When I serve God as an anchor, it makes me feel better about myself, instead of indulging in self-pity. If I help someone else, it takes my mind off my own troubles. Do I anchor up others or weigh them down?


Names have been changed by request.

Bio: God called Lynn to write for Him shortly after her husband departed for his heavenly home. Over eighty of her articles appeared in various publications. Recently, Nature Friend published “A Strange Animal,” an article about the platypus. Win Informer, Shining Star, Cross and Quill, and other periodicals also have published her articles. Accent Bible Curriculum published two of her curriculum packages. Lynn lives on her parents’ farm. She enjoys watching deer at play, and birds gathering seeds and bugs. For her bio, more information on her book and speaking, look at her website: www.writingfrommyheart.com.

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