The story of Mister John
For more than forty years, the church custodian known as Mister John offered his fix-it skills to help others in a small Florida town. He and his wife Laverne, the church secretary, were the town's good Samaritans. They didn't have much, but they were the people to call if your fence needed fixing, your car broke down, or your kids needed clothes for school.

Then suddenly the tables were turned. A few years after Mister John and Laverne retired from their church jobs, a fire broke out in their old wood-frame cottage. Half of their home was destroyed. Before the couple could salvage what remained of their belongings, theives broke in. They ripped out the copper plumbing and flooded what was left of the house, destroying everything in it.
There wasn't enough insurance money to rebuild. Times were hard for everyone. The recession had left many in their town unemployed, struggling to get by. Mister John and Laverne did not want to add to anyone's burden by asking for help.

What they didn't realize was that it was their time. It was their time to reap the rewards of their faith, kindness and unselfishness. After so many years of blessing others, it was their time to be blessed.

Mister John and Laverne didn't have to ask for help. Friends and neighbors simply showed up one by one. The pitched in, offering money, food, furniture, clothing, and a place to stay.



Then a local builder came forward. His business had slowed some too, but he'd done well over the years building luxury homes. And he had never forgotten that twenty years earlier, as a teenage volunteer at his church, he'd been taught basic carpentry skills by the kindly Mister John.
'I've been waiting all my life to repay him', the builder said. And so he recruited an architect, roofers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and other tradespeople to build Mister John and Laverne a new home nearly twice the size of their old one. They donated their time and materials, and they raised money to pay what the insurance did not cover. When the grateful elderly couple moved into their beautiful new cottage, they called it, 'the house that love built.'



God has a way even when it looks like there is no way. God has put promises into every heart. You have dreams and desires, things you want to accomplish, situations you want to see changed. But so often you gave up on those dreams, because it took so long, or because you tried and failed, or because you went through a disappointment, or because somebody didn't treat you right.
You may have become complacent. Maybe you are not pursuing what God put into your heart. But I want to encourage you today to get your fire back. You have to stay filled with hope. It may be taking a long time, but God is a faithful God. He is saying that no matter how long it's been, no matter how impossible it looks, if you'll stay in faith, your time is coming.
It's time to believe.

Every dream that's in your heart, every promise that has taken root, God not only put there but has every intention of bringing it to pass. I want you to have this attitude: My time is coming. I've been giving and giving. I haven't seen a lot of results, but that's ok. I know my time is coming.

from Joel Osteen, It's Your Time, Free Press, New York, 2009, pp. 17-18.
Remember...if you quit, you cannot win. Do not defeat yourself! Your time is coming!

Until next time,
Grant Rayner Marketing Systems
coachgrant

BELIEVE and Achieve!