An unexpected reminder of my past.

A couple of weeks back, I was going to a memorial service in Briar Hill, for a friend of some 30 years acquaintance. As I was going from Croydon, I decided to go to Warrandyte and go across to Research and then through Eltham. (A way I know very well but hadn’t travelled for some time now.) As I was doing so, and approaching Eltham, I noticed that the main street is now a 40 KM speed zone during daylight hours and so was thinking that on the way back I would go back through Templestowe instead of returning the way I came. Then, as I was driving past a group of Shops (where I had worked in a couple, at one time or another, back in the early 70’s) I saw something that made me decide to come back through Eltham again and even stop and check things out more carefully. When I worked there, there was A BP Garage and a small group of Shops set back a little from the road on one side. Next to the Garage was a fruit shop that used to be run by Ray Ferrari and his wife until he sold the business to the (then) young son of a greengrocer, and his wife, who later sold it to the owner of the nearby Health food store. Next was a Hardware shop, Then a Butchers, a Milk Bar, a Health-food shop, and finally, a Hairdressers behind the Health-food store, but down a lane. Today, the Hairdressers is a small café, The Health-food store a Pizza Joint; The Milk Bar a Fish ‘n; chip shop, The Butchers, another Pizza joint, The Hardware store where I worked for quite a few years, is now a Thai restaurant, and The BP garage, is now the Community Centre. What was the fruit shop then, was apparently most recently a Real estate agency but now up for lease, and thus all the old signs had been removed from the front, leaving a tattered and peeling sign on the top of the Veranda that still easily reads "Parker's Fruitery”. Yes, some thirty seven years after we sold the business and it stopped being a fruit shop, our surname is once again briefly and publically on display. Just once again showing that not everything we put behind us, stays behind us and out of sight forever. Thus we should always leave a good name and reputation behind us knowing that the past can sometimes reappear suddenly and totally unexpectedly, many, many years down the track. I think that this is also a very good reminder to us as Christians too as we live in a more and more hostile world, to continue to give our best to God wherever we are and wherever we go, and not be silenced or intimidated by the world around us, knowing that we are leaving a good name for Christ, behind us both now and in the years to come should Christ continue to tarry. What say you?

Looking for cans; and Christ sharing opportunities:

In our previous place of residence we had a reasonably large yard and thus our two small-medium size dogs didn’t need as many “walkies” then, unlike now in our “teeny-weeny, itzy bitzy “excuse for a back yard. Now over here, when you take your dog or dogs, for a walk you are supposed to pick up after them or be liable for a rather HEFTY MONETARY FINE. So, these days, when I take the Dogs “walkies”, (which is just about most days,) I take two empty bags with me. One for the ‘doggy doo’; and one for? Well! For many years now, one of my (two) brothers, has been picking up empty aluminium cans, and when he has a lot, takes them to a Scrap metal dealer and then donates the proceeds to two charities that he has been supporting for some years now. Now the rest of us aren’t so conscientious, but we do support our brother by saving our own cans and any others we come across, and passing them on to him. Thus now when I take the dogs out for their “Walkies” I usually collect any empty aluminium cans that I come across on my travels. Thus I am getting quite good at spotting empty Aluminium cans at 100 paces, when I am in the zone. Which I obviously wasn’t the other day when we went out. Although I did see a couple of obvious cans halfway through my walk, I couldn’t be bothered at the thought of carrying just two cans for the rest of the walk, and so left them for another time - if they were still there. Well the next morning I decided to cover the same ground again and if the cans were still there, pick them and any others I saw, up. Which I did! Although I covered the same area as I did the day before when I only saw 2 cans, this time I spotted (& picked up) quite a few others, both before and after the only two I originally saw. And from looking at these extra cans it was quite obvious that not only were they likely there the day before too, but there for many days too. Yes they were there, but because I was not looking for them they were not seen by me. True of a lot of things in life isn’t it? We often don’t see things we should see, not because they are not there, but because we are not really looking for them then. Non-Christians can stop reading here, but I couldn’t help but think how true that this is in our own personal testimonies of Christ too. As Christians we are supposed to be salt and light to the world around us by sharing with them what Christ has done for us, but so often we say we can’t do that because we never have the opportunity to do so. Well, I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that we in fact have many more opportunities to do so, than we claim, but because we are not looking for them, we miss all but the most obvious. So my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am going to encourage you today to lift up your eyes and your mind and see all the opportunities that you have to share with others what Christ has done and is doing in you. There is no need to “Bible-Bash” anyone, simply to share with all who will listen, what Christ has done for you and how He can do it for them too, if they will allow Him. So as I close, can I again encourage you to see the opportunities you already have to share with others what Christ has done for you, and then share it? Please.