In this Issue
June 2005

FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK
The Mommy Test is a lesson in levity
By Pastor Dean McIsaac
Quaboag Valley Baptist Church

The Book of Proverbs gives such good counsel. Listen to this: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken heart saps our strength.” I have a question for you: When was the last time you laughed, I mean when you really laughed? As I am writing this, we just celebrated Mother’s Day and soon will do the same for Dads. I hope that you smile as you read the following story entitled, “The Mommy Test.”

“I was out walking with my 4-year-old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item and asked her not to do that.

“‘Why?’ my daughter asked. I replied, ‘Because it's been lying outside; you don't know where it's been; it's dirty and probably has germs,’ I replied. At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, ‘Wow! How do you know all this stuff?’

“‘Uh,’ I was thinking quickly, ‘All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mommy Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a mommy.’

“We walked along in silence for two or three minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. ‘Oh...I get it!’ she beamed. ‘So if you don't pass the test, you have to be the daddy.’ ‘Exactly!’ I replied back with a big smile on my face and joy in my heart.”

For some reason, my wife, Terri, laughed right out loud when I read this to her. (I have reached only “daddy” status, myself.) I am discovering something, though, as I grow older. We all have this uncanny ability of taking ourselves much too seriously. I’m talking “attitude” here.

Someone suggested that people fall into two categories: “Basement People” (they’re the ones who find a way to rain on your parade) and “Balcony People” (they are your cheerleaders!). I have decided–again–that God’s call is for me to be a cheerleader, an encourager.

Consider this—when Jesus returned to heaven after His mission on earth was completed, He sent another member of the Trinity to “be there” for us. God sent the Holy Spirit, but gave Him a title. Listen to Jesus’ own words: “I will speak with the Father and He will provide you with an Encourager so that you will always have someone with you.” Don’t you love that? Acts 2 records the event of the Holy Spirit’s coming—and to think, one of the roles He is here to fulfill is surely to convict us when we are off-track (John 16:7-11 records this) but to encourage and comfort us, too.

One of the worship songs we are enjoying in recent months has been, “God Is Good … all the time.” With summer on its way, Terri and I want to encourage you to keep your focus on His goodness, even in the middle of what life throws our way. God bless you!

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