Elizabeth Giddens is a sweet 95-year-old lady that lives in Hawthorne, Florida.
I know her because she married a man that I knew and loved, Ben Giddens, who
passed away in 2011. They lived in Mobile, Alabama, for a while. As long as I’ve
known Mrs. Elizabeth, she has always been kind and a pleasure to be around.
Mrs. Elizabeth moved backed down to her home in Hawthorne a few years ago. She
moved back into the old house where she lived across from the school where she
once taught home economics.
I was told recently about something that Mrs. Elizabeth did while she was a
teacher at the school – something that would “come back to her” many years
later.
As many schoolteachers, Mrs. Elizabeth had one free period each day, until her
principal came to her with a special request. The principal told her that he
needed her to teach a group of four boys who were struggling. She asked the
nature of their struggle. The principal took her outside the building for
privacy. He informed her that the boys – which were in middle school – couldn’t
read.
Mrs. Elizabeth accepted the challenge. She wondered how she could get the boys
interested in reading. She decided to read Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer to them. She thought they might find the book interesting. They did.
She began by simply reading the book to them, trying to get them hooked. Then,
when they expressed an interest in knowing “what happened next,” she would give
each one a turn in reading aloud. She would patiently assist each reader through
the words, sounds, and pronunciation. In time, each of them was reading on his
own. Mrs. Elizabeth couldn’t have been happier.
Years later, Mrs. Elizabeth was experiencing electrical problems in her home.
She found an electrician to come to identify the problem. The electrician
assessed the situation and determined that her entire house needed to be
rewired. Fearing that it would be terribly expensive, she asked how much it
would cost.
The conversation went something like this:
“You don’t remember me, do you?” the electrician asked.
“No, not yet. Who are you?” Mrs. Elizabeth inquired.
“I’m one of the four boys that you taught to read. You changed my life by
teaching me to read. I could never have done as well as I have – even owned this
electrical company – if you hadn’t helped me.”
“The price for rewiring your house? It’s not going to cost you a thing. It’s my
way of saying thank you for what you did for me.”
“Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days.” –
Ecclesiastes 11:1
Jesus Christ did more than cast His bread upon the waters; He gave His life on
the cross for the sins of the world (John 10:17-18; 1 John 2:2). Even now,
almost 2 centuries later, you and I can receive the blessings of what He did for
us that day. He died on the cross to pay the price for our redemption from sin
so that we might receive the gift of eternal life (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:23).
Jesus is the “Bread of Life” (John 6:35), and those who “partake” of Him through
their trusting obedience will have salvation and eternal life.
God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in
Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31),
confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into
Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will continue to cleanse from
sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).
Won’t YOU partake of the life-giving Bread of life through your trusting
obedience?
David A. Sargent
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.