It's Your Choice by Fr Chris Sept 2019

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word and deed, do every- thing in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.Colossians 3:16-17

September is upon us and with it comes the return to our Fall schedules. Vacations are over and we prepare to send our students off to school or college. Shortly, we will begin raking all those leaves and picking apples. So, I would really like to share with you two stories and while your reading I’d like you to think about what these two stories have in common.

Back in the early pioneer days, a farmer finished loading a month’s worth of supplies onto his wagon. The farmer and his wife returned for their daughter. She was still in the general store, captivated by a colorful selection of hard candies.

The storekeeper complimented the little girl for being so good while her folks were busy. The storekeeper asked the girl’s parents, “Would she like to reach into the candy jar for free?” The little girl smiled, but hesitated. So, the owner finally reached into the jar himself and gave her a generous handful. On the way home, the parents asked her, “Why didn’t you reach into the jar? You’re not that shy.” With the same delightful smile, she replied, “Because his hands were bigger!”

Now the next story is about Thomas Edison when he was a twenty-three-year-old inventor who arrived in New York from Boston. His head was full of ideas for great inventions, but his pockets were empty. Since Edison worked earlier as a telegraph operator, he headed for a Western Union office. They didn’t need an inventor but they had some equipment that needed to be repaired. Edison fixed the equipment and hung around as an unsalaried troubleshooter. General Marshall Lefferts, who was the head of the company, was pleased that his new man made a dramatic improvement in the primitive stock tickers which often ran wild.

One day, Lefferts decided to honor his promise to “settle up.” “Well young man...how much to you think your improvements are worth?” A thousand dollars would be fine. $2,000 would be fair. But Edison wanted $5,000. Or, should he settle for $3,000.

After internally wrestling with what to ask for, he decided to trust Lefferts who was known as an honest man. “General, suppose you make me an offer.” Lefferts responded, “How would $40,000 strike you?” the young inventor turned pale ad mumbled his approval. Edison learned a valuable lesson about Lefferts’ generosity.

Now have you guessed what these stories have in common? In both stories, each of the persons received far more than what they expected because of the generosity of the giver. This is of vital importance to our lives. If we reach into life and use our own limited power, we receive limited results. But if we use the infinite re- sources and power God makes available to us, we receive his abundant blessings and much more than we could ever imagine. Maybe, just maybe, we should enlarge our expectations of life. Christ’s generous big hands are out there, ready to give. We just need to meet God part way. So, it’s your choice. You choose.

O heavenly Father, we lift our hands out to you for Your blessings. We deserve none by our own efforts, but we accept them through Your love for us.

Have a blessed New Ecclesiastical Year!

+Rev Fr Christopher P. Foustoukos, Presiding Priest