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Late Summer ’92
Dear Friends and Brethren:
Greetings in the Name that is above all names.
About all I can say is, "Wow, what a summer!" I’m glad vacation time is almost over so we can rest!!!
That famous sermon outline about sin could also apply to vacation (and deputation) when it says it will "take
you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and keep you longer than you want to stay."
Actually, we haven’t had a vacation yet, but just thinking about it makes me tired.
What we have had is 3 weeks of camp, 1 ½ Bible schools, a missions conference, 4 engine installations, deputation
meetings and some opportunities to help by filling the pulpit. Frankly, this is getting to be too much like work.
While it doesn’t show on our support statement, this has actually been a good summer. God, in His sovereign love
and mercy has allowed us to serve Him. We have witnessed young people making the two most important decisions in
life, salvation and service, and even participated in the process with some. Pray for those saved at camp, especially
those returning to unsaved parents, and those who decided to serve God no matter the cost.
A few weeks ago I was over near Piedmont Bible College in my trusty truck (oops, that should be rusty). I had just
helped a lady who had blown a radiator hose in the rain and tools were all over the seat. As I entered the parking
lot I saw a wet St. Bernard with purple medicine on one leg wandering around. I could see a collar and tags and,
though in a hurry, I decided to stop and see if there was an address or phone number. I put the truck in neutral,
set the brake, opened the door, and got out. After a brief hesitation, she came to me but the only tags were rabies
vaccine tags – o small relief in light of the stalagmites (or is it stalactites) of foam growing from her chin.
As I contemplated what to do, she noticed the open truck door and decided to avail herself to the opportunity.
At this point it was funny.
She was a nice dog – I wouldn’t say otherwise of a dog that weighs more than I – and St. Bernards have a reputation
for gentleness, but you never know. I opened the door so she wouldn’t feel trapped and in hopes she might be just
passing through. That would be too easy. I pulled on her collar, but then she laid down. I was almost glad, for
if she had fallen on me I was unsure whether I would first be asphyxiated from her weight, suffocated by her smell,
or drowned in her slobber.
So here I am on a hot, humid day with a smelly, wet dog stretched across the seat of my truck (with the engine
running) getting a letter and a questionnaire from a pastor wet and covered with purple medicine (try explaining
that one) and lying on my tools. In addition to gentleness, these dogs are known for another, less admirable trait
to which I have alluded – an overactive salivary gland. This dog was drooling in my tool box. I could almost see
the chrome dissolving, And I couldn’t even get her to move over enough to let me drive the truck out of the middle
of the parking lot.
With help, I did eventually coerce her to leave about an hour and a half later, but she had left her mark in odor
and rusty tools. Looking back on that day, I got to thinking. How much easier it would have been to have prevented
her entry than to extricate her. Often in our lives we allow a seemingly harmless sin to wedge its way into our
lives in a momentary lapse, only to find it much more difficult to remove than to acquire. Even when the sin is
gone, the scars and damage may take a long time to heal. Let us ever guard our lives and testimonies that we may
remain useful vessel for our Lord.
Please continue to pray for us that our schedule would be full and we would be able to serve Him.
In his Service,
The Athas
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