When
Hard-Case Hannah (that’s Granny) returned to the meeting room from
inspecting the rest of the dilapidated building, she saw Bennett and
Avery stacking some computer parts in the center of the room. Their
stacking was a little toward the front near the large showroom
windows that once displayed farm tractors and seed planters.
Granny
pretended not to notice but was terribly curious. Computer cables
were used to bind the various parts together. In about an hour the
sculpture of trash began to take some shape. It was a cross! It was
Calvary’s Cross made with stuff that others saw no value in. There
were about three computer boxes with two heavy monitors that formed
the base to hold the 5 foot high creation upright. Granny thought,
“maybe orange hair doesn’t always mean ‘I spell trouble.’
Maybe it means, I just want someone to love me just as I am.”
When
everyone got back in Gerdy for the trip back home, Granny noticed
Avery wasn’t wearing her nose chain. Her thoughts were forced to
the busy traffic and the conversations in the back seat. It wasn’t
until the pictures of the sculpture appeared in the newspaper that
Granny saw a small chain hanging down from one of the arms of the
Cross. It was Avery’s gift of love saying, “thanks for showing me
I’m special in Your eyes. I don’t need this anymore.”
Only
weeks later would Hard-Case Hannah notice that down in the Cross
sculpture was a slightly used pair of brass knuckles. Were those
brass knuckles some kind of seeds planted with a request, “God show
me how much you’ll fight for me’?”
Ribbons
Aren’t Just For Girls – Getting the word out.
Gramps
and Mr. Jenkins both brought in their tin snips in for the very first
COMMUNICATION WORKSHOP in Jr Jericho. It was Monday after school that
4 student boys and two silver haired men met in one of the side rooms
and began to gather up all the ribbon cables among the piles of trash
computers. One of the students told the other 5 that these ribbon
cables sent information from one part of the computer to another;
most often to be remembered by disk drives etc.
The
half dozen workers began cutting the ribbon cables into lengths about
4 inches long. These pieces were stacked in front of the next person
in the processing line. Mr. Jenkins said, “I don’t have a clue
what a dish drive, or whatever you said, is. But I seem to recall the
Bible talking about a very important Remembrance Ribbon. It’s a
little different than the ‘Remember Our Troops’ ribbons we see on
cars etc. The blue ribbons were sewn along the bottom fringes of the
priestly robes those that ministered in the Bible tabernacle.” One
of the boys said, “Gee Mr. Jenkins, the Bible must talk about all
sorts of neat stuff.” Gramps smiled at Jenkins and gently shook his
head in agreement.
Bob
Timmons took one of the cut pieces of ribbon cable from the stack in
front of him. Laying it flat on his work area, he took a permanent
magic marker and printed on the cable “JUNIOR JERICHO, SATURDAYS
2PM FREE.” Another student split the ends of the ribbon wires just
a bit. The next student would hold the marked ribbon in his hands,
closed his eyes and silently prayed. He asked God to bless this
‘cable communicator’ by bringing some soul to Jericho and learn
of God’s wonderful love. Every so often everyone would rotate to
the next position giving everyone the feel of spreading the word with
tin snips. The last person in the process neatly put the pieces in a
bag to be kept clean until used.
Marti
and her husband Max handed Granny two city maps. Marti said, “Granny,
I’m thinkin’ the boys and girls can hang one map up on the wall,
and cut up the other one into ‘zones of responsibility’. You
know, sort of like Nehemiah dividing up areas of the Jerusalem wall
to be rebuilt.” They both grinned.
