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Lydell
Posted on Tuesday, June 27, 2000 - 7:56 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

A story by Dave Oltmans.

There once was a young man who fell upon hard times. Oh, these "hard times" had nothing to do with a lack of things. He had plenty of things. No, these "hard times" had to do with his mind; he was losing it. I don't mean to say that he was insane but the young man was becoming extremely depressed. Try as he might, he could just not control his thoughts. His mind had a mind all of its own. It just would not set still. It was always thinking and thinking, flitting from thought to thought with hardly a thought at all. During lulls, which were not that frequent, the young man realized that he was no better off than a storm tossed rudderless boat because of the condition of his mind and his inability to control it.

A mind like this has no time for happiness, so the young man was sad. To be happy takes a certain appreciation and, yes, the young man's mind was way too busy thinking this and that to appreciate happiness. There were a lot of things which this young man's mind could not appreciate which only further saddened him. In fact, it seemed the only thing which the young man could concentrate on was how sad and hopeless he was.

It continued to get worse for him. When he left home, where his folks had tried to teach him discipline, he found that he went from disorderly in his thoughts to just downright scatterbrained. This process happened in less than a year and the young man was sinking deeper into despair with each passing day. He was envious of those who seemed to chart out their course and stick to it no matter what.

That's when he fell into the gutter and just gave up. Now this gutter was not a skid row gutter, running with terrible filth and nastiness. His gutter was worse because it was in his mind and, will as he might, he could not get out of that filthly, nasty gutter. He was trapped in skidrow just as certainly as a hopeless wino or mentally ill person on the streets, the only difference being that he smelled a lot better and dressed better so that he had no complaints from those who came in contact with him. But he knew how badly he stank and how filthy his clothes were. When he looked in the mirror, he could see the filth seeping up in his eyes. And he was powerless to do anything about it. When he looked in that mirror, he saw a filthy, ragged bum. Try as he might, he could not patch up his clothes. They were just like tissue paper and tore at the slightest touch, so he gave up on his wardrobe.

One evening, as he lay quietly drowning in his gutter, he heard that there was a man in town who could clean up minds. This guy wasn't even a psychiatrist, but every once in a while somebody would come along and recognize that he was drowning in the filth of his mind and say, "Man, you need a new mind and suit. I know just the guy for you."

Well, the young man just laid in that filthy, nasty gutter for a while longer, waiting for his mind to lull, and finally said to himself, "You know, you made it here easy enough, but climbing back out is gonna be three times as hard. I don't think you're gonna make it, but you gotta try."

And try he did. He said, "I sure could use some cleaning up and I sure want it to happen." And suddenly this kindly man appeared dressed in an immaculate outfit. Now this guy's suit was unlike anything a western boy had ever seen before. He was clothed in this IMMACULATE shining, sparkling white gown which had large flowing sleeves and a beautiful belt at the waist. Over his shoulders was the most SPECTACULAR , shimmering crimson robe anybody would ever hope to see. It was simply breathtaking. The young man feebly lifted his head from the filth of the gutter of his mind and said, "Sir, help me 'cause I can't help myself!"

That wonderful man reached down to him then and there and grasped the young man's clammy hand. "I have something here for you; a new mind and a new set of clothes. Do you want them?"

Oh, my, yes sir, I really want them." He replied sadly, "But I'm on a tight budget."

The man laughed softly. "Son, you cannot buy this new mind and outfit. They are both free because I bought them for you. I"ve been looking for you for a long time so that I could give them to you but your mind is so cluttered I had a hard time finding you."

The young man broke down right then and there. I mean he just could not believe his ears, but there it was, the same stunning suit of clothes that the man was wearing. In the twinkling of an eye, the man had pulled him up out of the gutter of his mind, stripped him of his filthy rags and had put the new things on him. Another remarkable thing happened too. As the new outfit went on, his mind began to clear up until he could actually hear himself thinking what he had been trying to think all along. Isn't that something?

Our young man fell to his knees and said, " Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU, SIR! If there is anything that I can do for you, just name it and I'll do it."

The man looked lovingly at the boy and said, "Son, I've just given you the most precious gift a person could give another, my own special suit of clothes. It cost me everything I had," he continued as he lifted bruised , scarred hands to straighten the young man's robe, "but it was worth every penny. Please take good care of it for me. It is priceless and needs daily attention. Take this book, I know it's thick, but it has all of the instructions about the proper care of this suit of clothes, and if you read it every day, it will be easier for you to keep them clean. There are also some sections about how to get out really serious stains if you get careless with it. Please don't get careless. You read this book and you'll understand it because you are in your right mind now and I have put a piece of my mind in you so that I can keep better track of you and you can keep in touch with me. Only you have to listen because I'm not going to shout to be heard."

The young man nodded attentively because he was indeed in his right mind and could finally concentrate and everything that the man said made such sense.

"Listen carefully, now," the man said seriously, "I'll be back in this neighborhood pretty soon to round up all of the folks who are wearing my clothes. Only those who keep them clean and in good repair will be going home with me. So do't make a mess of my robe. The young man nodded respectfully and promised to do everything that the man required.

Another remarkable thing happened to the young man. He now noticed for the first time that there were lots of folks with robes on like his. Some were bright and new while others appeared threadbare and tattered. Some folks had adorned their robes with patches and pins and other paraphenalia which really made the robe appear different. For instance, there was one guy who had a bright yellow patch attached to his left sleeve. It was quite gaudy. The young man asked what it meant and the guy, preening with pride answered, "Why this patch means that I'm doing what the owner of this suit says to do." He gestured with his right hand towards the patch. "Go ahead, read what it says."

The young man looked closely at the patch. It said, "THOU SHALT WEAR THIS PATCH TO MAKE YOUR ROBE BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE'S." The young man stepped back and looked closely at the man's garment. It was kind of tattered at the fringes and did not glow or shimmer. The robe looked black and not the beautiful lush scarlet of his own. The emblem was loosely attached to the garment.

"It's really hard to keep it there, you know?" the man said. "It's heavy too. It takes real spiritual muscles to heft that baby but it's worth it. Just wait 'til the owner of the suit sees how I've improved upon it. Won't he be pleased?"

For the first time the young man noticed that the other's left arm hung paralyzed and atrophied by his side. He stared at the withered arm until he looked around and saw all of the people who had in some way changed their clothes. Some had taken up the hem, others had discarded the belt. Others had multitudes of pins and patches on their suits. There were many who had great big ugly patches in bright red which said, 'I BELONG TO GOD'S TRUE CHURCH AND UNLESS YOU HAVE THIS PATCH YOU DON'T".

In each instance the young man noticed that the robes were definitely NOT being maintained as per the instruction manuel. "Excuse me, son," the man began again, "We've noticed that your outfit is just too flashy and that makes us a little uncomfortable. We used to look like you and we want you to put on these patches to tone you down a little. After all, you want to fit in with God's people, don't you?"

I'm sad to say that the young man was overwhelmed, and before he knew what he was doing, he was putting on the same gaudy, ugly patches that the rest of the crowd were wearing. His clothes looked terrible, but everybody said he looked so good now. That was until he got to a mirror. His clothes looked terrible and so did he. And he began to feel terrible, too.

One day he noticed that his thoughts began to flit again. His instruction manual said that it was the patches which were causing that, but he had become proud of those things and thought that he just had to have them to please the guy who gave him the suit of clothes. Then one day he looked in the mirror and saw his old self. His garment and robe was filthy with patches.

Fortunately he remembered that the man had said that he had left a piece of himself in his mind so he started to look for him. After looking for a long time, the young man said, "I give up. Sir, where are you."

A small voice in the middle of his head, right between his ears, said, "Right where l've always been but you would rather listen to yourself and your friends. How are my clothes looking?"

The poor boy was truly ashamed. "Not too good, Sir." He answered with tears welling in his eyes. "I really just want it like it was but I don't know what to do."

"Let me!" said the voice.

"Okay!" said the young man. And immediately the patches fell off and the beauty of the clothes shone forth magnificently. It was so beautiful that the young man burst into tears.

"Now here's what you have to do. Are you listening!!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Find my friends who like my robe just the way they received it. GOT THAT!!"

"Yes,Sir!!

"They will help take care of your robe and you can help them. AND LISTEN TO ME!!"

"Yes, Sir!!" he answered. And he did. He listened from then on to that small voice and it kept his thoughts ordered and his robe and clothes spotless until he moved in with his friend in this really huge mansion in this really cool neighborhood.

But that's another story.

Isaian 61:10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with garland, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels.
Patrick
Posted on Saturday, August 05, 2000 - 6:00 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thank you.
Much love & prayers.
Chyna
Posted on Thursday, August 10, 2000 - 3:28 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

i enjoyed that story :) immensely, let me tell you the cheese and cracker Christian story now. hey, your story reminds me of the children's book by Max Lucado.

anyway, cheese and crackers:

there was a couple who dreamed about taking a cruise. it was a vacation that they had thought about for years and years and they scrimped and saved to finally purchase two tickets for a wonderful cruise.

the problem was that they had spent all their money on buying the fare so they only had enough money to bring food like cheese and crackers, and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

so they would eat their dry fare and tried not to complain about it. every once in awhile they would catch a glimpse into the dining room when the door swung open. people inside there were laughing and talking, the aromas of food smelled absolutely delicious. they could see a tremendous buffet of every kind of food imaginable.

so throughout the whole journey they ate the same food daily. finally the husband said to the wife, "if we put the last of our money together, we can probably afford to purchase a meal in the dining hall." so they looked forward to it with great anticipation.

the last day they walked hesitantly up to the two doors. when they got inside they were struck by the warmth of the dining hall and all the happy patrons. they bumped into the captain of the ship.

"please," said the man, "how much does the meal cost?"

the captain laughed at him heartily, "your meals have already been paid for, they were included in the fare for the trip!"

end of story :), don't be a cheese and cracker Christian! enjoy life and all that God has blessed you in it.

love, Chyna
Breezy
Posted on Thursday, August 10, 2000 - 4:34 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Chyna,
I love that story! I heard it once before. It is so poignant, so true.

God bless,
Wendy

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