For me, Valentine’s Day has a very special meaning. You see, twenty years ago today, God spared my dad’s life.  From what Mama later told me, Daddy had the stroke as they were waking up that morning, and he fell off the bed. She thought he was reaching to get her Valentine’s card from the bedside table and slipped. Only after she got up and came around to see about him, did she realize that something was very wrong.

They lived in the small town where I grew up; when she called the ambulance, it only took them a few minutes to get there, but I’m sure it must have seemed like an eternity to her.  Since I had moved to another town with my three children after a divorce, she couldn’t immediately get in touch with me- I was getting the kids to school while all this was happening. When I finally got to work, my sweet sister-in-law Myrtie called to make sure I was okay, and to tell me that she’d get the kids after school, so I could leave and come home to be with them at the hospital.

Most of the rest of that day is a blur; I know I rode with them in the ambulance to Montgomery, and I remember the doctor talking to all of us in the hall, but not much about what he said.

I do know that the doctors first told Mama that he wouldn’t make it through the night. Nevertheless, the next morning, he was still with us; again, the doctors, trying to be kind and not build up false hopes, told us that even if he lived, he’d be a vegetable. I think that’s the day that he told Mama if she would just put his feet on the floor, he thought he could get up and walk… Then the doctors said, well even if he’s aware of what’s going on around him, he’ll certainly never walk on his own.

They had many visitors over the next days, while they waited to see what steps to take next.  One visit that I will never forget (Mama told me about it later) was from their friend Bob.  Bob and his family attended First Baptist Church with my folks, and they had served on committees together, and were deacons in the church – Bob also owned the local funeral home in town.   Since Daddy seemed to be asleep when Bob got there, and he and Mama were talking quietly; I’m sure he was asking if there was anything Mama and Daddy needed, and making sure that they knew everyone was praying for them. After a few minutes, Daddy opened his eyes and saw Bob standing there, and said, “You can go home, Bob. We don’t need you yet.”

During the time that Daddy stayed at the rehab place (about 6 weeks), Mama was there every day, cheering him on.  He worked as hard as he could on every task they gave him, and didn’t give up. And Mama didn’t either- she cooked his favorite things and took them to him, to ‘supplement’ the meals he got at rehab.  It was tough on her, but she kept doing what needed to be done.

They never gave up, and they still haven’t given up.  Daddy still works on his computer every day (he has a spreadsheet that can tell you how much he’s paid for gas, how many miles per gallon they get for each tank, and how much each miles costs!)and loves Auburn football; he also enjoys playing games on the computer, and sending emails. (When he hears that someone has had a stroke, he always sends encouragement to them, telling them to work as hard as they can at their rehabilitation so they can get better. ) Mama takes care of him every day, cooking for him, making sure he has what he needs and just being a good wife- and you know, that’s what Valentine’s is all about, don’t you think?

Oh yeah, one other thing… you know, the doctor told him he’d never walk again – well, here’s the rest of the story. Daddy got out of the rehab center right before Easter, and went back for a followup visit to the same doctor. When he came into their checkup room, Daddy looked at him and said, “You said I’d never be able to walk again; but I want you to know that I walked into this office on my own!” The doctor told him he’d never been so glad to be wrong in his life.

I’m sure you’ve seen the email circulating about the new preacher in town.  He gets on the bus, and pays the fee. On the way to his seat, he realizes that he’s gotten too much change.

As he sits in his seat, he tries to decide what to do with the quarter he got by mistake. First, he thinks that he’ll keep it- after all, the bus company already makes plenty of money, and no one would miss it. Then he realizes that even though it’s only a quarter, it’s still wrong to keep it, because it doesn’t belong to him.

As he gets off the bus, he hands the driver the quarter and says “You gave me too much change earlier.”  The bus driver smiles at him and says, “Aren’t you the new preacher? I gave you too much change intentionally, to see how you’d handle it.  I’ve been trying to decide on which church to go to- I’ll see you Sunday.”

When the preacher gets off the bus, he’s almost rocked to his knees, and thinks, ‘Oh Lord- I almost sold your son for a quarter.’

That may be a sappy story, but it has a good message anyway.  Because like it or not, if you’re a Christian, the people around you watch you every day to see how you’re going to handle bad news, problems, gossip,  rude customers, angry bosses, unreasonable requests.

And what’s an even scarier thought – what kind of witness are you to the “invisible” people who are watching you when you don’t realize it. People who are around you, but not noticeable- like serving staff in a restaurant, or the person who waits on you at your grocery store or department store;  the clerk at your post office. These people are right in front of you, but because of what they do, you aren’t always completely aware of them. How many times have you gone through the checkout line without actually recognizing  the person ringing you up? How many times have you let out your anger or frustration about your job on the waitress who just brought your lunch? How many times have you treated the “invisible” people as less than human?

Because I work part-time in a deli, I’ve seen people act in ways I wouldn’t have believed. It’s like they don’t even see me and my co-workers… I posted on Facebook last year, right after starting my job, that a real friend loves you even when you’re wearing your hairnet. I said it as a joke, but there’s a lot of truth in it.

The next time you’re out and about, watch for the “invisible people”; when you see one, pretend that person is your daughter or son – because that person IS someone’s son or daughter.

And remember- as trite as this may sound- sometimes you are the only “Jesus” someone sees.  Don’t you want to be a good representation of Him?

One of my favorite secular writers is Stephen King.  I’ve been reading his books ever since I picked up a copy of  Salem’s Lot in the grocery store a long time ago.

Many years ago, he started the Dark Tower series, which are related in one way or another to almost all of his other books. One theme running throughout those books are “all things serve the Beam” – the Beam being a force for good that holds all things together.

I heard James Dobson say one morning on Focus on the Family that everything serves God – even Madonna. When he said that, I started arguing with him immediately… there’s no way that Madonna serves God! Look at how she dresses and acts!  But the more I thought about it, the more I knew he was right. Everything serves God – everything.  The good and the bad can point you back to God, if you’ll allow it to.  Bad things serve God by giving us a reason to lean on Him and trust Him. Good things serve God by giving a reason to be thankful.

So… back to Stephen King. As I said, he’s one of my favorite authors. Yes, he can be gruesome. Yes, he uses ugly language. Yes, he’s scary (after all, he says he has the heart of a small boy – in a jar on his desk! LOL).  But he serves God, just like his characters serve the Beam (and can’t that be a metaphor for God, just like Aslan the Lion?).  When I read one of King’s books and laugh, my husband always says, “I thought you were reading a Stephen King book- why are you laughing?” And I always say, “Because he’s got a wicked sense of humor, and because there’s truth in there.” I find sermons all through King’s work.

All things serve the Beam – and the Beam and King serve God.

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