The Attitude of Gratitude
“In holy worship they’ll honor the Holy One of Jacob and stand in
holy awe of the God of Israel. Those who got off-track will get
back on-track, and complainers and whiners learn gratitude.” Isaiah 29:23, 24
(Message)
Growing
up in Brownfield, Texas, I remember the day when Dr. Dick Scott, then a
missionary to Panama, brought a young Ecuadorian boy named Rafico to our home
while traveling through on a special destination to California. I had been prepared
with a little inside information about our new Texas visitor, but my young eyes
would be introduced to a side of life that I had never seen.
At
six, I had a number of friends but never had I known anyone like my little
buddy Rafico.
You see, Rafico had one leg missing below the knee. But that didn’t really matter. Maneuvering fairly fluidly on his crutches
around our neighborhood, he seemed to manage to get around as he came to
Vacation Bible School with us, played games, and always had a smile on his
face. I took great delight in
introducing him to all my church and school friends.
Most of all, you could tell he loved
Jesus.
I wondered how a boy with a missing leg could be so happy. A thing like that, however it happened,
should have taken the last vestiges of hope away from a nine-year old. But not Rafico. He loved to sing and sing he did. He even taught me my first words in Spanish, “Demos Gracias Al Senor, Demos Gracias.” (We Give Thanks To You, Our God).
Only later would I truly understand
the story about my special childhood friend.
Dorothy David, our former missionary to Ecuador, would recount the story
in a book published some years back called, On The Field:
“Rafico was a nine-year old Otavala
Indian boy in Ecuador. One night, in a
drunken stupor, his parents tied him to the railroad tracks, muttering they had
eight children and didn’t need so many. Rafico managed to wiggle free, except for one
leg that he lost above the knee.
Neighbors saved his life and eventually Rafico came to live at the
Ecuadorian House of Happiness, provided by the Foursquare Church.
Miraculously, God opened doors for
Rafico to get medical treatment in the States.
When the day arrived to be fitted for his artificial leg, the AP wire
services became aware and the story spread.
A copy
of the Miami Herald found its way to a small shack in the jungle of Brazil
where an oil man was eating his lunch. The Lord touched his heart as he read
Rafico’s story. Six months later his
company transferred him to Ecuador to build a pipeline over the Andes
Mountains. That line ‘just happened’ to
cross the property of the Foursquare House of Happiness. One day this man proceeded to tell the
Foursquare leader about the story he had read.
The leader smiled, ‘Would you like to meet the boy?’ He wept when he met
Rafico.
With their equipment, they carved
out a soccer field, built a 50,000 gallon water reservoir and did thousands of
dollars of grading. We realized that God
did this: ‘He provides every time we have a need.’”
Too
often, we can forget how blessed we are. Too often, the insidious spirit of
entitlement, rights and expectations can filter into our hearts, subtly
replacing the blessing and graces God has given us. The next heartbeat is a gift from him; the
resources, vocation, people, and yes, even two legs that He gives us to walk.
Isaiah points out: “In holy worship they’ll honor the Holy One of
Jacob and stand in holy awe of the God of Israel. Those who got off-track will
get back on-track, and complainers and whiners learn gratitude.” Isaiah 29:23,
24 (Message)
Did
you catch that?
In a world or complaining and whining, we can learn gratitude today, my
friend. Rafico is a fine Christian and
an optometrist in Ecuador helping others as he was once helped. He’s still sharing Christ’s message of hope
and still carrying a song in his heart, “Demos
Gracias Al Senor, Demos Gracias.” Those are words worthy repeating…and repeating
often.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1)
On the Gratitude Scale, would you
assess your heart right now as low, medium or high?
2)
Thank the Lord for three things you
value today and share those with someone else.
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
No comments:
Post a Comment