The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
(If you have been with us for a while, you may have read the following, the account of one of the most seminal moments in my walk with our Lord. I gratefully remember it and the grace our Lord revealed every autumn).
"Mr. Schaffer's Pecans"
Long ago, our family lived next door to an elderly gentleman and his wife. We tried to befriend Mr. Schaffer, but to no avail. He responded only minimally to any communication we attempted to have with him. Our Heavenly Father, however, orchestrated circumstances wherein He graciously worked to establish a relationship with Mr. Schaffer amid significant challenges. Thereby, we made a friend to be remembered with much affection and gratitude. Even more, we discovered the Friend of our hearts to a far greater and more wondrous measure.
One fall, Mr. Schaffer's pecan trees yielded a bumper crop of nuts. Several limbs hung over portions of our backyard and driveway. Mr. Schaffer frequently peered through the bushes at the many pecans that fell from his trees onto our property. One morning, I stepped into our backyard and found a gentleman - a friend of Mr. Schaffer's - picking up pecans in our yard and placing them in his coat pockets. I knew what was going on. "Sir, can I help you?" I asked. Startled, the man looked up as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing - which he had. "Oh, sorry, I'm in the wrong yard" said the man in a decidedly unconvincing tone of voice. "I thought I was next door."
"Sure you did, buddy!" I did not actually say the words. But I wanted to. I was perturbed and determined then and there that Schaffer was not going to take our pecans. "I have to rake his leaves, so I should benefit from his pecans. MY pecans!" I came back into the house, where Frances and our children sat together in the kitchen.
"Frances, you're not going to believe what Schaffer did! He sent one of his buddies - one of his henchmen - over here to steal those pecans that are rightfully and legally ours!. The guy told me he had mistaken our yard for Schaffer's. Likely story! He was sent over here, and I caught him stealing that which is ours! Can you believe it?"
I paused my diatribe long enough to allow myself to fume a bit. Then the inspiration hit.
"You know what we're going to do, Frances? The kids and I are going to go out and pick up all our pecans. Mr. Schaffer won't get them, or send over his friends to do his dirty work! Because those pecans are ours, they are rightfully ours!"
I do not recall exactly how the Lord interrupted my fleshly diatribe. But somehow, the Lord Jesus Christ came to mind with the realization of how differently He handled His earthly life's challenging relationships. I realized He had never acted the way I was acting, and that He had willingly given up the glory He so richly deserved to redeem us unto the glory we do not deserve. "He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Corinthians 5:21).
The realization hit me like a ton of, well, like a ton of pecans. I thought of the horrible example witnessed by my wife and children. I had allowed the misery of selfishness and bitterness to envelop me, which threatened to poison my family. Most of all, the Lord reminded me of the price He paid on the cross of Calvary to redeem me from such a fleshly and destructive attitude. "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (I Peter 1:18-19).
I also realized something else about the situation, or rather, something else about my Lord and myself in the situation. "Certainly, this is not who the Lord is! But this is also not who I am in Him!" I remembered the truth of our Lord's character, nature, and way, which He had long ago spiritually birthed in me through the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit. I recalled that through Christ, my delight - regardless of what I felt in my flesh - involved loving Mr. Schaffer rather than lusting for pecans.
"I delight in the law of God after the inward man… The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 7:22; 5:5).
Certainly, I felt what I felt in my flesh. I had responded and allowed bitterness to control my attitude, words, and actions. However, the liberating truth came to heart and mind: "I am not my flesh!" "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit… Ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you" (John 3:6; Romans 8:9). In this holy light, I realized that decisive action had to be taken, first within my heart, and then in whatever the Lord might lead me to do by His leading and enabling. "If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25).
I repented, confessed my sin, and thanked our Heavenly Father for His forgiveness and cleansing. I had grievously distrusted and disobeyed Him. Indeed, had He left me to my fleshly inclinations, my family and I would have enjoyed a belly full of pecans that autumn, while suffering the consequences of my selfishness. As Scripture says regarding Israel of old, "He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul" (Psalm 106:15). God mercifully saved our family from such a fate by rescuing me from my sinful attitude.
I also apologized to Frances and our children. "I was wrong, and I am sorry. There is no excuse for what I said and how I behaved." A thought then occurred to me. "Come on, kids, we have pecans to pick up!"
We filled several bags with pecans, made our way to Mr. Schaffer's back door, and knocked. He took a while to come to the door, and when he did, a look of suspicion clearly lined his face. "Mr. Schaffer" I said a bit nervously, but with a smile, "Your pecans have been falling in our yard and driveway. Marie, Noah, and I picked them up for you, and here they are." We handed one bag to him, and set the others on his steps. Suspicion gave way to shock on Mr. Schaffer's face. His countenance then softened into the kindness we would see in the man's eyes throughout the rest of his life. In that moment, and always thereafter, we discovered a hidden graciousness in Mr. Schaffer. He could not do enough for us. He frequently invited us over for food, or to give toys to the kids, or just to talk. Sadly, not long after the episode, Mrs. Schaffer became terminally ill. We walked with Mr. Schaffer through the trying time of her passing. Not too long after, Mr. Schaffer himself passed away.
I served as a pallbearer at his funeral, held with military honors. Mr. Schaffer had served in World War II, where he had been part of a hellish ordeal known as the Bataan Death March. I can only imagine what he experienced in that terrible time. However, I came to understand why you had to get to know Mr. Schaffer before the real person stepped forth. I will always count it a humbling honor to have participated in Mr. Schaffer's homegoing service. He had sacrificed so much for our freedom. We were and always will be in his debt.
Frances and I recently passed by the church where the funeral was held. I reminded her of that long ago farewell. We both smiled as we thought of our friend. Our friend, as given to us by our merciful and redeeming Heavenly Father who rescued me from my fleshly reaction, and unto a new experience of our Lord's marvelous goodness.
"The love of Christ… passeth knowledge."
(Ephesians 3:19)
We serve a faithful Lord. Left to my fleshly inclinations, our family would have missed a rich blessing in lieu of a few bags of nuts. However, the Lord did not leave me in my temptation to selfishness and bitterness. He reminded me of who He is, and yes, who I am in the innermost depths of my spirit, united to the Spirit of Christ. He thereby blessed our family with a gift that still brings joy to my heart and tears to my eyes. Mr. Schaffer's pecans. I love telling the story because it reminds me of our friend long ago departed - and of our Friend forever present, active, and redemptive in our lives.
"So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before Thee. Nevertheless I am continually with Thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel."
(Psalm 73:22-23)
Weekly Memory Verse
Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love."
(II John 1:3)
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