short Stories of faith 2018

MINUS AN "O", GOOD WINS!

Tim took a deep breath, closed his eyes and wondered how it ever got this bad.  The judge was about to rule on custody of his kids after a year long court battle.  A marriage of 17 years and two kids (6 and 14).
Lies from lawyers, kids being manipulated and asked to lie, boasts that he makes much more money than he does..... it was like his x-wife went off the rails.  Tim had men friends who had done the same and left their wives, but this was the opposite.  He wanted to be around his kids and loved who his x wife used to be... just did not know her anymore.  His parents were oddly against him, telling him to agree to anything for the kid's sake.  Facebook was full of rants against him by the family of his x wife.  His kids were stuck in the middle.... the main source of pain for him.​

Tim's grandmother spent a lot of time with him in his younger years... and had a saying.... Minus an O, Good wins.  She would say that in some form almost every time they were together.  One time in particular, after he had lost an important little league baseball game.... he ask her if he was not good cause he lost.  She smiled and said "Now Timothy, did you forget the first part of that saying..... don't you know that is the most important part!"

The judge's gavel jumped him back into reality.  He said a prayer that basically asked for clarity and patience ... and he asked for a good outcome since he had not lashed out or said anything negative about his x wife and just tried to be there for the kids.  The ruling went against him in every way possible.

A number of nights later, he was dreaming.......unaware how he arrived in what seemed like an endless building .... like a massive hotel but instead of door numbers.... all the doors on one side of the hallway said Mathew 6:24 and the other side said Psalms 37.  As he went up each floor the doors got brighter.... and then the very last door said God Wins, he awoke wet with sweat.  He quickly looked up the verses that were burned into his memory now.  He was amazed how every word applied to his life.... and felt comforted in a really bad time.

Ten years flew by..... he was thinking about that dream when the preacher ask him "who gives this bride away?".... he smiled and said "her sister and I do"... with laughs at those attending his oldest daughter's wedding.  His x-wife had passed from an overdose a few years after getting full custody and a steady flow of child support.  His oldest daughter as she got older was more aware of what a good man he was.....and still asks him how he never said anything bad about their mom during it all. 
​
In the back of her wedding book, he wrote:
Minus an O, Good wins.  It's the forgiveness of your sins
Faith in Jesus is the key, the only thing that will allow you to see
Minus an O, Good wins, go share it with your friends
Faith in Jesus is the key, the only one with more love for you .. than me.
Love,  Dad

Matthew 6:24
6 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Psalms 37: 1-9
37 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

meeting with the devil

Amanda sat on the balcony looking at the best sunset she had ever seen with the sun peering over the mountains and hitting the water/beach below.  She said, "that is it, I'm doing it, it is going to happen".

 Back from vacation Amanda discussed her plan with her dad, the work promotion that she dreamed of was going to be decided in 3 months.  She explained that it was between 4 people, Carrie was losing a big client, Dirk was a favorite but his drinking problem was more than out now, Tiffany was struggling as an only child while her mom battling cancer..... I got to finalize this ONE last client next month and it is MINE!!!.. I've been working for 20 years for this to happen. 

 Her dad smiled ......looked at her and asked her when she was on the podium, who was she going to thank?   She knew all too well to discuss this with him... her eyes twitched one way and then the other.  Dad, of course I'll thank God.   Dad asked, will you thank the demonic lady (Valerie) that is retiring from the position after 40 years of politically destroying people that wanted her position?  Amanda, glared at her Dad and asked WHAT ARE YOU DOING?    Dad switched the channel to baseball and just said very softly, I am just wondering what kind of leader you want to be to others.... if your going to thank God, might want to give him something back.

 Three months later, the four top sales people were called to the stage.  Each were introduced with their achievements and asked to say a few words before the winner was announced.  It was a large crowd and Amanda's dad shifted nervously even though he sat in the back.  They called Carrie to speak first, but about half way out to the podium, she stopped and motioned towards the others to come out..... as Dirk and Tiffany started walking towards Carrie........ Amanda felt her heart sink, What were they doing?   She felt a hand on her shoulder and Valerie's voice say, stay here with me.  OMG, she felt numb, she was being passed over... screwed... without even the chance to speak like her competition.

 Carrie spoke first, very eloquent about thanking the people who got her there... she had landed the biggest client ever for the firm in the last month.  She explained that Amanda had called her and ask if she wanted her to help, both of them spent a full month working on repairing the relationship and winning all of this huge client's work.   Amanda froze.... what was happening here, she could feel Valerie staring at her.   Tiffany was next, 15 seconds of silence went by and she simply said, if it were not for Amanda, I would not be here... the last three months she has been by my side while my mom battles cancer and helped me with any personal or client issue.... wiping a tear from her face... she turned to Dirk.  Amanda watched and did her best to hold back the tears. 

Dirk stepped up and cleared his throat... I did not return Amanda's first 4 calls three months ago, but around the 8th call I realized she was not going to stop.  We had a great lunch and she has accompanied me to two months of AA meetings and I wanted to thank her for caring enough about all three of us.  I've never been so pleased to call someone my boss.  Let me introduce you to our new Director of Sales, Amanda please come say a few words.  Not a person was sitting and the applause went on for what seemed like an hour.
​
 Amanda walked proudly, hugged all three of them.  She said, 3 months ago I had a meeting with the devil..... he showed me amazing sights, riches and power with me on top of a mountain as long as I did not help others.  I just want to thank God for this opportunity and my dad for being the angel on my other shoulder.  We are in a very competitive sales environment and that is healthy, but you can't forget about helping others...... or you will lose all that you are fighting to gain.  It is going to be the best year yet!   Dad thought to himself.... yes it is.... it already is.

1 Corinthians 10:13
​ 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
 
Psalm 91:11
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; ​





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Lines in heaven

​He never could sit down for long, always ready to move on to the next item on the list.  Always someone to see in need, something to help others with... for a long time that was just how his life went.
Waiting in lines for food or tickets was out of the question.. getting stuck in a crowd or bumper to bumper traffic might be hell on earth.  His long cancer battle had finally ended and had taught him some patience since nothing happened quickly with doctors, trials and check-ups.
 
The colors were uncountable and bright as ever that flowed through the sky ..... a glowing man had extended arms on each shoulder and was looking him eye to eye.   There were three lines of people all seemed to be waiting to greet him.  The line to his right was the shortest, the middle line was about twice as long and the line to his left was so many people that he could not see the end.  He did not understand why he felt at peace, normally this would have sent him trying to find any way out possible.
 
The glowing man smiled and said "I AM"..... "I AM TIME,....RELEASE YOUR FEARS TO ME....... LET'S SEE YOUR TIME THAT WAS GIVEN".   The clouds unfolded to show the past as the people in the longest line came forward.... people he knew, did not know and those that were before his time.  The greetings were one at a time and oddly all at once, where time did not even matter.  Great-grandparents,  great angels, friends, even King David.... he thought that there could not be better feelings than their greetings.
 
The 2nd line began, as people who played a part in him being saved...... what an amazing journey this was..... nothing was hidden, from his mom's constant involvement to the people he only met once but played an important part.  The journey was not an easy one with many twists and turns.

As he took a deep breath, now fully knowing he was standing next to Jesus, his savior.  He finally understood the hard times in his life and fell to his knees with the purest gratitude he had ever felt.  Jesus smiled, and said, "rise up...is it not written God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.... that which you read many times, Hebrews 6:10?
 
Then the Right line came forward, each beamed with excitement as he was shown how his actions helped lead these people to be saved... as each touched him, beautiful voices would sing and new lights would appear.   With each person, pure joy and so much genuine gratitude for his actions were felt. He thought, only if this feeing would not end.   In an instant, he was sitting alone with Jesus overlooking a lake with the sun setting.  It was his lake, but different now.... the feeling had not gone away, not even a slight bit.  Jesus smiled and said "you earned that feeling, it is yours now forever....but, there is still plenty of work to be done, you were made for a purpose.... so let's go introduce you to your job here in Heaven.  You were made for this!"

Revelations 1:8
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

​Colossians 3:12
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ​

ENERGY OF WORDS

Phil had worked for the government for over 35 years...he was turning 57 this year.  Most people in his area of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) retired at this point and did contract work for another 5-10 years.  His passion was the environment and the protection of it... He had seen great leaps in technology in his time, which had also included seeing uncountable violations from companies and individuals around the country.  He was being honored today... with an award from his peers for the year's most valuable employee.  It was truly an honored award.
 
One particular dumping of chemicals in Kentucky roughly 20 years ago, he investigated and tracked its effects on the land, animals and people.... there were long lasting effects.... it made him start to think about how connected the entire earth really is.  Phil had been responsible for reviewing that company well before, during and after the violation..... he felt somewhat responsible for the mess.  After dealing with the Kentucky company, Phil was so focused on controlling every aspect of his life..... his marriage fell apart, his kids wanted nothing to do with him and co-workers.... named him "the jerk".  This continued for 15 years... just prior to his 30th anniversary with the EPA.
 
About 5 years ago, Phil was yelling at a member of his team for not being detailed enough..... and he said "Dianee (pronounced like Diane), you just don't understand... everything is connected... it will cause damage".   Dianee was just a few days on the job..... and had about enough... and told Phil to go with her to lunch.  At lunch, she ask him if he loved the science behind how the environment was affected, the testing and how they really know clean ups are working.... Phil did really love his work... and always ended by "all things are connected".   Dianee had been waiting for that and made the shift in discussion.

She ask about his family, where Phil mumbled something about divorce, kids don't care to see him and any brothers or sisters don't keep in touch.  Dianee, said her mother taught her that there is only so much energy in the universe.... and that even the words we say have energy and never stop flowing through time...so, make sure the energy you put out is for the good of someone.  Phil said that is interesting concept.......so Dianee knew Phil would not get it easily.... so she said, Phil, its surprising that you are so passionate about how chemicals and gases affect the entire environment, but you can't see how your actions affect everyone you come into contact with.  You can fire me if you want, but the way you treat people is just the same as a chemical contaminating a stream.  Maybe it is time for a cleanup operation with family and your co-workers?   Phil just looked at her with a blank stare and she said ..... I'm being transferred tomorrow to the North KY office, but I care about you.... did you know that even prayers said anywhere have power?  I'll be praying for you... she wrote on a napkin her new office address, then Proverbs 11:17 and Ephesians 4:29...... Phil looked down at the napkin, keyed the verses in his phone..... looked up and Dianee was gone.
 
When accepting the award, Phil got to say a few words....He told the story about his lunch with Dianee.  He reached out to her via e-mail and cell phone one year after their lunch, but neither worked..... he tried to find her for the next 6 months, even the EPA said they did not have a record of her working there.  Every search ended with the wrong person or not finding anyone at all.  He kept the napkin, the address she gave in Northern KY was to a place called Angel Windows Trail.  Phil took a deep breath, said his mom died when he was 5... her name was Dianee ..and spelled the same odd way... and he had remembered his grandmother always taking about doing good, good energy to everyone.  Phil tried to rationalize it for many months.... but had to conclude he was visited by his mom or an angel.  It was slow, but Phil turned things around to try and always treat people better, not control them but help them with whatever it was they needed help with.  His wife was already re-married, but they actually became friends and his two kids, still skeptical..... but were very happy to have him be a part of their lives.  He thanked his 2 kids that both were there.... and told everyone there that "everything is connected.... every person and everything".. he said EPA now stands for "everlasting positive attitude" to him.  He hopes that others don't have to be visited by an angel before they decide to help others every day.
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​Proverbs 11:17
17 Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.
 
Ephesians 4:29
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.