July 2008 Anchorage Gospel Rescue Mission Newsletter
8
David M. Williams Program Director Larry Aldrich Operations Manager Randy Hess Maintenance Supervisor Larry O’Connor Greg Mann Roger Klein Donn Baker Client Supervisors David McKnight Van Driver Solomona Talivaa Maintenance John Lofquist Donations Neil Givens Learning Center Anchorage Gospel Rescue Mission A Ministry of Rescue & RecoveryA publication of the Anchorage Gospel Rescue Mission • Anchorage, Alaska n e w sr e s c u e j u l y 2 0 0 8 There was once a certain man that worked as a carpenter . This man was very good at his work. He worked so professionally that his employer placed him above others. It did not take long before our friend b egan exhibiting strongly arrogant behavior. One day while on the roof , our friend fell from the platform. He had been too busy scolding another workman. He did not notice his own unstable footing. He did notice, but too late ! He suffered a broken arm and a broken ankle from the fall. Our friend’s physician att ended to his needs with great care. Casts were plac ed on the wounds to support hea ling. The physician then continued by advising our friend on how to cope during the arduous healing process, which according to his experience should take at least eight weeks. The weeks dragged on and on for our friend and he started noticing that the casts were cumbersome and more of a hindrance than help. “I mean, REALL Y , look at me!”……he often thought. He looked “weak”, he believed. This will never do for our frie nd …… sooo.. feel ing that he no longer needed the support the casts provided, nor the strong advice the physician offered….he quickly cut them off. One week went by. Our friend was cordial enough to the public a nd his acquaintances. What they did not realize was the pai n in his ankle was now unbearable. Our friend felt he would rather cut off his own foot than to continue i n the pain he was i n. He went to his physic ian, finally. The physician saw to our fri end immediately . Shaking his head in disbeli ef, the physician counseled that his leg would have to be re-broken, then re-set. The process had to start all over as a result of our friend’s arrogance and inability to heed to others advice. The physician looked into our friend’s eyes, gently held his leg and foot. With a swift, clean, painful break…………..healing began. As I searched for a concise, transparent way to share my story, I was reminded of how much I loved hearing Jesus’ pa rables as a child and even to this day. The story I just shared with you is just that….a story I made up. While the story itself s eems simple enough, the elemental parts and profound truths are absolutely mine. My story is one of what we’ve all heard called “Keeping Up Appeara nces”. I, like our friend in the story , lived a life dependant upon myself. I lived for myself, worked wherever, whenever I wanted, did whatever I felt like. (continued on page 2) “THE PHYSICIAN”
