The population decline in every Southeast Kansas (“SEK”) county is a disturbing trend and represents our biggest threat.  As a result, there is a shortage of labor in the region, which is a serious hurdle when recruiting employers.

What can we do to attract new labor to SEK?  We have to play both offense and defense at the same time, solving problems while working on the plus side.  Here are some observations.

 

The biggest problem rural America has is the mass exodus of our young people to cities for education, better jobs, and entertainment.  Study after study shows that our young people are far more experiential than we are, preferring the memories of an exotic vacation over the down payment on a home or the security of a vehicle without a monthly payment.  Does it makes sense to go to herculean efforts to attract new people when the natives are not staying?  Perhaps we should spend some of our resources on how to slow this dynamic.

 

Bourbon County REDI hosted the first ever county-wide strategic planning meeting this month, and the group was virtually unanimous as to the biggest barrier to attracting new labor: housing.  A close second is our high taxes, which is part of the cause of our housing issues.  Every government in the county is aware of this and many are focused on solutions.  For example, the City of Fort Scott recently formed a Land Bank to give consideration to vacant properties and those that are in need of attention, and formulate creative solutions.  It is a beginning, and other efforts like this are percolating.  It will take all of us, every government, every civic organization and every citizen working together to make progress.

 

Third, we have to make our communities more attractive to outsiders.  This includes previously mentioned issues such as entertainment amenities, cleaning up blighted properties, holding the line or lowering property tax rates and encouraging collaborative efforts.  Additionally, we must pay attention to our infrastructure, which paints a rather daunting picture of our community to outsiders.  Out-of-town realtors representing prospective buyers are aware of our sewer issues and warn their clients, which has a chilling effect on holding time and prices.  Also, I consider the social media environment in a community as “soft” infrastructure; certainly ours could be kinder.

 

Lastly, we have to think outside the box to opportunities such as immigration.  I am not talking about an uncontrolled mass migration of people; rather, a thoughtful, measured approach such as what has been executed with the three Afghan families in our community.  They have been solid, productive citizens.  We are, after all, a nation of immigrants.

 

These issues represent mega trends that we cannot completely overcome, but perhaps we can differentiate ourselves from other small communities by being the best we can be.  Many of us are committed to working on solutions for this community in which we have chosen to make our permanent homes.  I encourage you to get involved as well.

 

 

 

Two of my closest couple friends have had the same experience in the past month, and it hasn’t been a good one.  Both of them joined couples’ Bible studies, hoping to meet new friends and grow in their faith.

One (“Lisa”) phoned to relive her nightmare with me.  She signed up at her church and was told the leader would contact her with information “soon” as the group was meeting in the next two weeks.      When Lisa heard nothing after eight days, she emailed Rose, the leader, to say how excited she was about joining and asking if there was a scheduled time and date.  My friend was floored by the response: “Well, are we a little impatient?  I have you on the list and will let you know when we are getting together” …which came via an email the following Thursday, announcing a session the next evening.

So as not to appear uninterested, Lisa and her husband, “Greg,” changed their plans to attend.  Besides the leaders, only one other couple was there, and for two hours, the guests listened to Rose and her husband explain how they hadn’t prepared anything so they would just discuss the Sunday sermon and visit which—you guessed it—was all about them.  It was downhill from there.

Today I had lunch with “Julie” and “Steve,” long-time friends who recently joined a mega-church and are loving it.  They too signed up for a couples’ study and were shocked that the leaders never asked them one personal question (where they were from, how long they had been Christians, how they started going to the same church, etc.).  Instead, the couple in charge spent the entire evening talking about themselves.  My friends didn’t go back.

I’ve known people like that.  Not many, but enough to realize that I don’t want them as close friends.  There is no give and take.  Only give.  (Or is it take?)  At any rate, I always question how they review an evening where they haven’t learned one thing about the other person.  Or are they excited because they found an audience willing to listen to their ramblings?

Everybody can teach us something.  Everybody! Proverbs 18:2 cautions us all to be wise and listen: A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion, a scripture echoed in 18:13: If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. 

As Christians, let us be mindful of the need to value others by learning about their lives.  Maybe, just maybe, we might learn a thing or two.

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Since we hadn’t taken our annual family vacation for four years, the kids and I decided to go big and go to the Bahamas. Being the country bumpkin that I am, I knew before we went that it would be a once-in-a-lifetime destination for me. Some people love the mountains, but I’m a water-and-beach gal. I suppose, if I lived on an island, I could take for granted the beautiful turquoise water, the calming sound of the rolling waves, and the fascinating beaches. But for the ten days we were privileged to be in Grand Bahama, God’s masterful handiwork was awesome and gorgeous every day.

 

Nevertheless, amid the bliss of the Caribbean, I was a stranger on foreign soil. Everything familiar to me had blown out the window of the 737. The only two languages I speak are  redneck and hillbilly. The beautiful Bahamians speak English, but I couldn’t understand most of them because they put their own spin on it. They also drive on the wrong side of the road.  Why? The first taxi transport was comparable to a scary carnival ride. One day I unintentionally stopped traffic from both directions as I attempted to cross the busy street (with no traffic lights or stop signs). Thankfully, the locals are smart and go to great lengths not to run over a tourist.

 

One of the first out-of-the-ordinary things I did was watch “Daddy Brown” prepare my conch salad right in front of my eyes. Before chopping it to smithereens, he hit the conch with his utensil and I watched it quiver. He claimed the added lime juice would “cook it.“ I exclaimed, “That’s raw!“ His response: “We say it’s fresh.” Well, where I come from, we fry our fish and it’s very dead when we eat it. No bones about it, I felt like a duck out of water even though the locals bent over backwards to be kind, friendly, and helpful.

 

One of these days (sooner than I can imagine) I’ll step into a place that’s been prepared for me. Although I’ve never been there before, I’ll feel completely at home. There will be no transition period, no getting used to it, and no awkwardness. Everything will be perfect in the blink of an eye. Why do I believe this? Because Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you…where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2,3 NKJV).

 

Our vacation was a worthwhile experience and made enduring family memories outside the U.S.A. But it was also good to be back home again, even if it is just temporary. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our once-in-a-lifetime passport out of this world. When believers take our last breath, our spirit is carried by angels to that beautiful City of Gold.

 

When I was a young girl playing piano and singing, occasionally my folks and I would sing a “special” together in church. Since Dad was especially fond of songs about heaven,  we sang “I Will Not Be a Stranger,“ written in 1956 by James B. Singleton. Here are some of those lyrics: “I will not be a stranger when I get to that City, I’ve a home on those streets paved with gold; I will feel right at home there in that beautiful “Somewhere” with my loved ones whose memories I hold. Thru the years, thru the tears, they have gone one by one. But they’ll wait at the gate until my race is run. I will not be a stranger when I get to that City, I’m acquainted with folks over there.”

 

The Key: We’re here, but when we get there, we’ll be right at home — where we belong.

Tuesday evening, August 23^rd, marked the first countywide strategic planning meeting by community leaders and private citizens in Bourbon County.  I noted representatives from every government jurisdiction in the county along with major businesses, community organizations, and private citizens.  It was a marvelous event.  I was pleased that his message dovetailed with the origins of Bourbon County REDI: Community trust and collaboration is everything. Here is how we got here:

 

BEDCO, was started in 1992 by community men and women to bring the far reaches of Bourbon County together with a focus on economic development.  Out of this entity was birthed our industrial park, among other initiatives.  Over time, this outstanding organization devolved into a Fort Scott-only effort.  Primarily, it became a sales and management entity for industrial park lots and the dispenser of a trickle of grant money.  Steve Buerge served admirably as its longstanding Chairman, often donating his own money to the cause.

 

Fast forward to 2018 when several of us were lamenting the rising cost of local government compared to the declining number of tax payers.  We started researching jurisdictions that had consolidated counties with cities, or started sharing services to save costs.  We began to uncover some of the internal barriers to progress in our community, the biggest of which is distrust.  We concluded we had work to do before we can even think about any kind of sharing or consolidation.

 

As these discussions ensued in BEDCO board meetings, they authorized the formation of a formal committee to study the idea.  They appointed Mark McCoy and Gregg Motley to kick it off and add members from disparate parts of the county to bring credibility to the process.  We met regularly over more than a year’s period of time, researching ideas, collecting data, visiting other jurisdictions on our own nickel, uncovering pockets of distrust and other barriers within the county, and formulating a plan.  The final product is what now known as Bourbon County REDI, in the form of new organizational bylaws which brings the whole county back into the process.

 

While several people worked on the committee for the year+, here is the group that saw it over the finish line: Mark McCoy, Chairman, Gregg Motley, Vice Chairman, Nancy Maze, Secretary, Greg Fess, Ward Kraft, Larry Jurgensen, Uniontown Mayor, and Larry Martin, Fort Scott Livestock Auction.  I saw Uniontown Mayor Larry Jurgensen last night and he was grinning ear to ear with the realization that the event was the culmination of all our time investments.

 

Bourbon County REDI was born.  It was ordained by BEDCO and funded by Bourbon County and Fort Scott.  It has also been sanctioned by Bronson, Fulton, Mapleton, Redfield, Uniontown, Fort Scott Community College, USD 234, USD 235, and the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce.  This is a mandate to help restore trust and collaboration countywide.  There will be detractors and naysayers, but we have the high ground.  If we stick to our mission and continually work to establish trust and collaboration, the county will succeed together.

I’ve cherished a heartwarming memory about family and well water since I was about six years old. My Aunt Pauline and Uncle John lived in the country and had a well just outside their house. (Where I come from, water from a deep life-giving well that never ran dry was always preferred over other resources.) An elongated well-draw bucket was used to fetch the water. Then the water was released into a clean aluminum dishpan, and that’s where my cousins and I would get a refreshing drink when we were thirsty. Everyone (oldest to youngest) drank from the same dipper because we were all family. However, should anyone stop by, he/she could have a drink from the dipper too. Anyone thirsty and needing to wet their whistle was welcome, accepted, and loved.

 

The biblical story of the woman at the well depicts a powerful life-changing encounter with Jesus.  He and His followers were traveling through Samaria and, while the disciples were in town buying something to eat, Jesus wearily sat down on the edge of Jacob’s well to rest. Around noon, a Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well. Since Jews traditionally despised the Samaritans, she was surprised that Jesus would strike up a conversation with her. But her nationality made no difference to this caring Stranger. In fact, Jesus  kindly said to her, “Please give me a drink.“

 

The woman said to Jesus, “’You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?’ Jesus replied, ’If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water’” (John 4:9,10 NLT). He explains that anyone who drinks water from the well will soon get thirsty again. “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life“ (John 4:14 NLT).

 

The two of them talked about the unseemly aspects of her broken life. As Jesus showed His love and acceptance while teaching about salvation, her spirit was opened to receive the truth. She said, “I know the Messiah is coming — the One who is called Christ. When He comes, He will explain everything to us. Then Jesus told her, ‘I AM the Messiah!’” (John 4:25,26 NLT). The woman was thirsting for answers and Jesus spoke of more than she had hoped for! Excitedly, she left her water jar and ran lickety-split back to the village, telling everyone, “’Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could He possibly be the Messiah?’ So the people came streaming from the village to see Him” (John 4:29,30 NLT). While she was passionately sharing her testimony with others, she became the first New Testament evangelist to win a village to Christ.

 

Statistics show that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. I don’t know what percentage of Americans are genuine believers. But I do know there’s a large percentage of people wandering around in a spiritual desert, chronically dehydrated, looking for living water. Christians need to realize we’re a walking testimony. The water jar we carry is on the inside of us and it’s full of fresh living water that’s supposed to bubble over onto the thirsty people around us. God wants to use us to compassionately tell others that Jesus knows everything they’ve ever done and loves them anyway. Now that’s Good News!

 

The Key: Come see this Man; He knows you thirst, He knows you hurt, and He understands.

Money Flow

 

In my last column, I compared the total business payrolls of Bourbon County to that of two of the most relatable counties in Southeast Kansas: Allen and Neosho.  While payrolls are a strong indication of the vitality of business activity in a jurisdiction, one can also look at the flow of money into a community to gauge the strength of that activity and future prospects.  As the saying goes, “It takes money to make money.”  While that it is not an absolute, it certainly holds true much of the time.  Accordingly, let us take a look at the flow of money into these three counties over the last few years.

 

One way to understand how much money is being created in a community is to look at the lending activity to small businesses; almost all of our Southeast Kansas businesses fit that definition. Here is a chart of total small business loans outstanding in each county and the average loan size at origination:

 

2015                                      2019

County	# Loans	Ave. Loan Size	# Loans	Ave. Loan Size	2020 Pop.
Allen	144	$44,785	129	$34,264	12,526
Bourbon	100	$27,452	133	$41,571	14,360
Neosho	121	$13,661	128	$19,828	15,904

 

As you can see, over the five years considered, Bourbon County has grown their small business community when measured by lending activity.  Each of these loans puts additional money in circulation in a community and helps fuel future economic activity.

 

How has that translated into the money supply in our community?  One way to evaluate that is to look at total deposits in the county financial institutions.  Here is how the banks in the three counties compare in recent years:

 

2019                                               2020

County	Institutions	Deposits	Institutions	Deposits
Allen	5	$292 million	5	$357 million
Bourbon	6	$254 million	6	$277 million
Neosho	7	$394 million	7	$453 million

 

Allen and Neosho lending institutions and investors have millions of dollars more to place in future business activity than Bourbon County, and their deposits grew by 22% and 15%, respectively, compared to 9% for Bourbon County.  Part of the explanation of the dramatic one-year growth in all three counties are government programs rolled out during the pandemic, such as the Payroll Protection Program, which injected millions of dollars into small businesses across the country.  The real question is whether these businesses invested in payroll and business activity, or paid off bank loans and stuck the rest into their deposit accounts.  Considering our increase in lending activity and smaller deposit growth, it looks as if more of this kind of government money went to work in Bourbon County small businesses than that of the other two counties.

 

All indications are that the small businesses in Bourbon County are holding their own, and increasing their economic activity relative to our two similar neighbors.  Bourbon County REDI encourages you to support your local small businesses by shopping local and paying your sales tax in Bourbon County.  Let us all help the vitality of our small business community when possible.

In a Bible study, my group prayed for Ben, a 21-year-old heroin/meth addict who has been placed in a treatment center by his parents.  Ben, we were told, was a star baseball player.  At 6’6” and 250 pounds (plus owning a 93-mph fastball), scouts were showing an interest.  Two summers ago, while tossing haybales at his parent’s ranch, Ben felt something pop in his throwing arm.  The news was not good.  He would need Tommy John surgery.

Ben was told that it would be about two years before he would pitch again.  The opioid Oxycodone was prescribed, and Ben became addicted.  Fortunately, he was not one of the 130 people who die daily from an opioid-related overdose, but ultimately, that pain killer morphed into illegal drugs (not uncommon since 80% of heroin users begin with prescription pills).

For two years, tens of thousands of dollars were spent ineffectively on rehab facilities by the young man’s parents.  On his own, Ben took the first step to stop using drugs.  The improvement was so radical, his parents bought him his own house so he could get a fresh start.  Then he needed his wisdom teeth pulled.  Pain pills were prescribed, and Ben was hooked again, this time more than ever. His parents once again brought him to live in their home.

One night, Ben’s parents went to town for an evening out.  They took precautions, locking the keys to their second car in the safe.  When they returned, they found the safe had been pulled into the garage and their tractor was missing.  On a meth-high, Ben had been able to drag the safe next to the car, hoping the keys were close enough to start the vehicle.  When that failed, Ben drove the tractor to McDonalds, a few miles away.

Ben now weighs 155 pounds and calls his parents daily, begging them to remove him from the facility to which they have committed him.  I found myself grieving for the parents, as I have walked alongside two friends whose sons had chosen similar paths and had made those phone calls.  Some days, it was all the parents could do to drag themselves out of bed as their sadness would take on the same lifespan as their addict children. Some days, they enabled their addict child.  Some days, they drew a line in the sand and refused to help.

In the last year, I have sat with two mothers whose young adult children died from drug’s side effects.  One was suicide from drug-induced bipolar disorder and the other from drug-induced bulimia.  Their children’s torment has ended.  Theirs hasn’t.  In this life, it probably never will.

There are all types of addictions: cigarettes; alcohol; pornography; work; sex; caffeine; ministry (yes, even that); gambling; golf; the internet; shopping; approval of others; comfort foods; and video games, to name a few.  What keeps individuals pursuing these obsessions?

For one, life is tough.  Not a day goes by that we aren’t reminded that things aren’t as they should be.  Instead of accepting that perfection stopped in the Garden of Eden and won’t return again until Jesus comes back, these messy in-between years are expected to be something they can’t be.  We keep seeking answers, and instead of turning to God, we turn to behaviors which provide relief (albeit temporarily).

Isaiah 64:6 reminds us how close we all are to the edge of the addiction cliff when it says we all are unclean.  All of us.  So, we seek relief which can be found in one of two places: the Creator or the world.  Maybe it’s not drugs, but look at the inexhaustive list above.  Who of us hasn’t at one time or another sought to feel better by relying on something other than our Creator?  (My hand is raised here, thank you potato chips and dip.)

I write this article to ask you to pray for Ben and anyone else you know whose addictions have led down a road to destruction.  Pray for their families.  And pray for yourselves, should anything you do be one step closer to pulling you away from God and into the ways of the world.

I recently watched the iconic movie, “Walk the Line” depicting the early life of Johnny Cash. His career was successfully moving along and he began receiving large amounts of fan mail from the incarcerated. In my opinion, the best scene of the movie is when Cash pitches his unheard-of idea to the music executives. He expresses his fervent desire to perform a live-concert recording at California’s maximum-security penitentiary. During this meeting, one of the top execs said to Cash, “Your fans are church folk, Johnny — they‘re Christians. They don‘t want to hear you singing to a bunch of murderers and rapists trying to cheer ‘em up!” Cash replies, “Well, they’re not Christians then.”

 

Cash was thinking outside the box and from his heart and the music executives weren’t.  But The Man in Black was too gutsy to be dissuaded so the execs cut a deal with him. The legendary prison concert on January 13, 1968, was uncharted territory but made music history anyway. The album, “At Folsom Prison” skyrocketed his career and was one of the most-popular recordings of all time. The album received enthusiastic reviews, hit #1 on the country charts, and was certified triple platinum in 2003. The popularity from the Folsom concert prompted ABC to give Johnny Cash his own television show, which was also a huge success. I’m pleased as punch that the Christians in 1968 proved the music executives to be wrong. And I want to believe that the Christians in 2022 are going out on a limb to prove that they love people from all walks of life.

 

Cash’s Folsom Prison story reaffirms the Word of God.  Jesus spoke to His disciples and the crowds at length and said, “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited Me into your home. I was naked, and you gave Me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for Me. I was in prison, and you visited Me.‘ Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? Or a stranger and show You hospitality? Or naked and give You clothing? When did we ever see You sick or in prison and visit You?‘ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!‘” (Matthew 25:34-40 NLT).

 

Many times an unheard-of idea comes straight from the heart of God. And many times it’s met with boxed-in thinking and the dry-as-dust response: “We’ve never done it like that before, we don’t think it’ll work, and we don’t want to change it.” God is not locked into doing the same thing over and over again. “Behold, I will do a new thing…” (Isaiah 43:19 NKJV). As believers, we should want God to do a new thing in our hearts every day. Walking the line with God is not a humdrum experience! Our God is up to something new and good every day and we should live in unshakable expectation of His guidance and goodness. I challenge you to be gutsy and do what God has put on your heart. The world may consider it a harebrained and unheard-of idea, but what do they know, and who cares anyway?

 

The Key: Walk the line to avoid that burnin‘ ring of fire.

Business Trends

 

It is difficult for the average citizen to assess the relative health and growth of the Bourbon County business community because we do not have ready access to sales numbers of private businesses.  We tend to go by feel and whether or not our favorite stores are still open, but what does the data say?  Let us look at two counties in Southeast Kansas that are most comparable in size and complexion to Bourbon County: Neosho County and Allen County.

 

The simplest way to compare private business activity from county to county is to look at total payroll outlays.  Here is a seven year look at the three counties, ending is 2019, which is the last year available:

 

Dollars expressed with three zeros omitted.

County	2012	2019	% Change	2020 Pop.	10yr % Change
Allen	$128,442	$160,725	23.3%	12,526	-6.3%
Bourbon	$120,638	$148,724	23.3%	14,360	-5.4%
Neosho	$164,261	$173,656	5.7%	15,904	-3.7%

 

Like Nevada, Missouri, Neosho County tends to rely upon a single large employer for their growth and future prosperity.  Although we do not have access to the gross sales of the one company, I suspect the lack of growth in Neosho County payroll is reflective of the relative success of the one company.

 

Allen County has a 2020 population base that is 1,834 less than Bourbon County, but much stronger payroll numbers.  Despite losing a higher percentage of their population over the last 10 years, their payroll growth kept pace with Bourbon County.  Much of this can be attributed to a larger geography draw for their employee base, as the competing cities in other counties are remote. Additionally, Iola draws from a wider geography for retail sales. Recently, a large Bourbon County employer chose Iola for their expansion over adding additional space in Fort Scott, presumably to tap into a new employment base.

 

It is encouraging that Bourbon County business continues to grow despite our population loss, and housing and infrastructure challenges.  We have a diverse group of strong, independent manufacturers and branch locations of major corporations that bodes well for our future.  We also have a solid group of local retailers and a growing traffic count along 69 Highway as the highway expansion continues, bringing more consumers through Bourbon County.

 

Our city and county governments continue to support the economic development efforts of Bourbon County REDI.  We are intently focused on health care and housing in order to retain our workforce, and give our employers a chance to attract more to facilitate their growth.  These efforts will be augmented by the launch of a Land Bank in our jurisdiction to deal with blighted properties, which has also garnered support from our government entities.  This will go a long way in helping the curb appeal of our communities and giving responsible owners of adjoining properties the respect they are due.

 

Of course, we are always on the lookout for new opportunities to introduce business investors to the overall quality of life that Bourbon County affords.  In the end, it is quality of life that business owners and their employees alike value most.

When Dave and I were first married, I found a couple of end tables at a garage sale and brought them home to restore them, stopping first at a lumber yard where an elderly man helped me buy the correct supplies.  Dave was away on a baseball road trip, so it was the perfect time for me to set up shop in our one-car garage and turn ugly into beautiful.

It was a painstaking process, and to this day it has given me an appreciation for people like Jim Sackett who find it rewarding to refurbish furniture for a living.  After sanding, I applied the stain.  Two coats of polyurethane later (I had to protect my treasures), they turned into a masterpiece.  Today, I would call them ugly and take them to the dump, but not then.

The night Dave returned—and not anticipating anything to be in his path in our garage—he drove in and ran right over them.  I heard the noise and thought we were being ransacked which, actually, would have made more sense, but no!  Dave simply did not pay attention and reduced my tables to splinters.  His excuse didn’t fly (even though his car obviously did): “Why should I expect anything to be in the middle of the garage in the middle of the night?”                                “Well, lucky for me I wasn’t standing there to greet you.  Would you have just plowed over me too?”

I don’t remember Dave’s response, but I’m pretty sure it was NOT an apology.

Since then, only a few other times have I attempted to restore something.  This past week, I tried to restore the bottoms of my pots and pans. After soaking them in Google’s suggested homemade paste for several hours, not one stain came out. For some reason, what looks so simple…well, isn’t.

Of course, furniture is not the only thing needing restoration. Laptops, old photographs, leather boots, broken bones, friendships and marriages, to name a few, sometimes need repair.   Then, there are Christians.  Yes, Christians.  Even they occasionally need a little help, and lucky for us, God’s the best in the business at making the old look new.

The word “restore” appears 136 times throughout the books of the Bible. King David simplified things in Psalm 23:3: He (God) restores my soul.                                                           

Do you ever need your soul restored?  I sure do.  Like now.  A Christian couple is upset with me, and I fight the need to act ugly right back. I mean, where is their love, the one thing that’s supposed to set us apart from non-believers?  What about walking the talk?

So, I take it to God—albeit reluctantly—who reminds me that I need to ask those two questions of myself.  Where is my love?  Am I walking the talk?  If so, I would not be fighting the desire to tell this couple how they aren’t acting very Christ-like and demand an apology. Surely there’s a scripture entitling me to do so…somewhere.

But of course, there isn’t.  Instead, I find Romans 12:21: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. In other words, I need to turn my ugly into beautiful. I need to allow God to restore what He knows needs a little help.

 

Lucky for me, no polyurethane required.