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{SFTH} *The Call No One Wants to Get* 5/11/01
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THE CALL NO ONE WANTS TO GET
By Roger Campbell
When the phone rang in the wee hours of the morning, I sensed it
might be the call no one wants to receive.
I was right.
My sister was calling to tell me our mother, who would have been
ninety-five the next month, had died, a tough call to get any time for
any family.
Mother was born in the house on the farm her family had owned since
before the Civil War. She weighed three pounds. And without the aid of
an incubator or other small baby saver used in hospitals today, she
survived and outlived all the members of her immediate family, as well
as many younger nieces and nephews. When she was three her mother died
from complications following the measles so she was raised by her father
and grandmother, who were able to instill in her the ability to always
look for the best in people and in all she would face in life.
When a fierce tornado swept through the area that had been her
lifelong home, I thought mother might be upset by all the destruction,
but I should have known better. "At least it blew the dead limbs out of
the trees so they can't fall on my head," she said.
If you like to gossip and cut down others, you wouldn't have
enjoyed spending time with mother. She was an expert at changing the
subject when the faults of others came up in conversation. In the
juiciest part of your slander, she'd likely walk to a window and say,
"Isn't it a beautiful day?"
I once told me wife that in all the years of our marriage, I had
never heard mother say one negative word about her.
"What's to say?" she replied, laughing.
Mother would have enjoyed that; consistently choosing laughter over
complaining, convinced she didn't have time to waste looking on the dark
side of things.
"Life's too short!" she would say. Maybe that attitude is one of
the reasons she lived nearly a century.
Faith played a major role in mother's life and in her goals for her
children. When I came before the board of the country church we
attended to be examined for membership, the oldest deacon said, "I want
you to remember that your mother has brought you to Sunday School on
winter days when the weather was too bad for men to get here."
Hymns were sources of great joy for mother, often bringing family
members around her bed to sing to her during the past few years when her
strength was almost gone. When I visited her for the last time, I sang
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus" to her, one of her favorites.
Mother wasn't perfect but she was convinced she had a perfect
Friend who would always be with her. She had placed her faith in Him
and found Him faithful in all the experiences of her long life.
No one wants to get the call I received that night, but a life of
faith in the One who is faithful changes the tone of those unwanted
calls from despair to hope.
Roger Campbell
rcministry@ameritech.net
Send Roger an e-mail and let him know what you thought of his story!
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Roger Campbell resides in Michigan and has been in the ministry for
more than thirty-five years. Since 1974 he has had an extensive
ministry in local church conferences and Christian radio. He is also
the author of some seventeen books.
To purchase his books or to find out more info on this ministry,
Visit Roger's web site at:
http://www.rogercampbellministries.com
You can write to him at:
Roger Campbell
P.O. Box 301004
Waterford, MI 48330
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Thought For The Day:
"No matter what a man's past may have been, his future is spotless."
--John R. Rice
Verse for the Day:
"...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before." --Philippians 3:13
Kid's Thought for the day:
"It does matter who started it."
Parent's Thought For The Day
"Some parents bring up their children solely on thunder and lightning. But thunder and lightning never yet made anything grow."
Coach's Thought For The Day
"Every athlete has more talent than they will ever develop."
Deep Thought For The Day:
"If carrots are so good for my eyes, how come I see so many dead rabbits
on the highway?"
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REQUESTS:
Dear Michael,
I have been reading the stories in SFTH for about a month or so now. How touching they are to me. Tonight I noticed a prayer request for Sandra Fisher's mother for May 10. I, too, have a prayer request. My father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 2 weeks ago. The surgery revealed a tumor on his pancreas and some cancer cells on his liver. They did not remove the tumor, but instead did a bypass around where the tumor was blocking the bile duct. He was released from the hospital only to go back in after 2 days of not keeping anything down. He is very depressed. I have a wonderful family and we have all taken turns staying with him around the clock. If he can ever get to where he can be released from the hospital, he is to start chemo to try and shrink the cancer. As you can imagine I am struggling and trying to be strong for him. My faith sees me through the hard times. I know God has a plan for all of us. Thanks for passing along all the great stories about others to inspire us.
Sincerely,
Kathy Roe
Kathroe@aol.com
Forsyth, IL
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Dear Michael,
I have an urgent prayer request for my mother (approaching 70 years old) who
has to be operated tomorrow morning i.e. 10th May, Thursday due to her
broken (one of the backbones) bones after an accident. The doctor is
going to fix 6 screws to hold her bones together to reduce the pain caused
by her fracture and bent bones. She has high blood pressure and diabetics
which the doctors has tried to stabilize her condition through drugs. I
know we could come to this Family for joint prayers to our Heavenly Father
who is the best surgeon to perform the operation through His assigned
surgeon. Praise the Lord! Prayer for her recovery too. My joy and
thanks to this Family
Ma Nar
lhling@pc.jaring.my
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A few weeks ago I ask that you pray for my Dad he was having breathing trouble. I am asking that you all dear SFTH readers please keep him in your prayers. He just came home this past Saturday and is not doing well at all. The Dr's have told us that his lungs are so bad that he may never fully breath normal again. He is 81 years old. He breathing problem started 50 years ago. He worked with the Gas Pipeline and breathed dust and fumes all those years. This has been so hard on me as well as my Dad. On top of all the problems he is facing another one while in the hospital they found he has diabetes. This is very hard for him to accept. I'm so thankful that I serve a God who is there when I feel like I just can't go on another day. My Dad is a special Man, he adopted me when know one wanted me as a 6 month old baby, and has always been there for me when I needed him. I'm here for him now and with the help from My heavenly father we can face another day. Please continue to pray for him. Thanks so very much.
Mira Shropshire, Reidsville NC
jimmira@earthlink.net
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_
/_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\ / THUNDER27@aol.com
/_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \ Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live for the Son
\_\/ of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
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