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Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life
by Tom Kelley
Every man needs a granddaughter. Last evening our twins were here for a few hours. My granddaughter, Grace, asked me to help her build a castle. For the better part of an hour we stacked cylindrical wooden blocks as high as we could to build her castle. I would stack one and then she would add one. When it came to the final one or two on the top of the precariously teetering stack, Grace would hand me the blocks and say, "Finish it, Pawpaw." I would finish and we would look at the completed castle for all of about two seconds. Then Grace would do something I consider as totally remarkable. She would try to pick up the castle.
Each time she attempted to pick it up the castle would, of course, topple. She would look at me with sad eyes and turn around and lie on the floor for a moment as if mourning her castle's demise. Then I would say, "Grace, let's build it again." She would sit upright and smile and say, "Okay Pawpaw." We repeated this scenario until she decided it was time to play with something else. For almost an hour my granddaughter and I shared in the magic of imagination. We built her castle.
Little girls begin dreaming of castles at early ages. Last night the castles my granddaughter wanted were those we could construct out of wooden blocks. Some day her dreams will be of more important things. She'll dream of tests at school, that certain boy, a pair of shoes, or maybe a bicycle. The older she gets the more important her dreams will be. As those dreams are realized or crushed she will grow through them. I hope that I can be there for some of those dreams. I hope that she can say, "Finish it, Pawpaw," and I'll be there for her to help her.
Along the way she will need encouragement. Some of her dreams may seem silly to me. To her they will mean the world. Each dream that is shattered may be cataclysmic for her. I know her parents will be there for her, but I want to be there, too. My grandfather was there for me. He was that voice that encouraged me through difficult times and soothed my crushed dreams with his hope for something better for me. I want that for Grace and also for my grandson, Patrick. What of others? What of those people whom God places in my life for ministry? What about yours?
"Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed." Hebrews 12:12,13 People need upheld. When something seemingly crushes their spirit they need to see that clear path to recovery so they don't become crippled by it. My granddaughter needs her Pawpaw but so do others. People need us as Christians to remind them that the defeats of this world, though difficult, can be overcome through the grace of God. There is healing for broken dreams. Castles can be rebuilt even after they come crashing down.
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...He was the Minister of the Minorsville Christian Church located near Stamping Ground, KY.
...Becky and Tom have three children; John, single and in worship ministry in Nicholasville, Kentucky; Sean, married (Jennifer, elementary school teacher) with twins (Grace and Patrick, b.d. 10/31/04) and regional director of Papa John's Pizza in Central KY; Kara, married (Vince Taylor, prison guard) and working with Hospice East in Winchester, KY.
...Tom went to be with the Lord on November 13, 2009 after a lengthy battle with cancer. If you have been touched by Tom's writings please send an email to Tom's son at jkelley@catalystchristian.net
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