Autumn Leaves

A couple of years ago, John  had found himself with a daunting task.  He had a small house located in a quiet community.  It was a chilly autumn morning and much of the leaves have fallen from the surrounding trees.  The entire yard was filled with red and gold leaves.  To add to his work, the leaves from his neighbor’s yard had blown into his yard. Thankfully, the leaves have stopped falling from the trees and it was time to clean up the yard.

“This is going to be a long day,” thought John.  John was in his late 40’s and was not in too great a shape.  This job was going to consume a great deal of energy.  “Two can make the task, lighter.” came a still quiet voice.  John had heard the voice in his heart and knew who it was.  It was true what the voice has spoken; however, who could he call?  John was resolving to do the job, himself.

“You could call Nick and ask him.  He would be willing to help you.” came the soft reply.

“Wait a second.  Nick is nearsighted. How can he help?  Would he be able to see where he is raking?” asked John.  He began to imagine Nick swinging the rake around like a long sword and swinging wildly at imagined orcs.  Not comfortable with what the voice had told him, John proceeded to continue raking his yard.  It took most of the day and John had only got half way done.  Exhausted from the day’s labor, John decided to finish the work at a later time.

“You are erring with your assessment of Nick’s eyesight.” came the still voice in John’s mind.

“He reads his Bible, real close to his face!  How can he possibly see to do raking?” asked John.  He knew the Spirit was telling him something.

“Nick is nearsighted and needs to hold his Bible close, so he can read the text. You shouldn’t confuse this with his ability to interact with the world around him.  Nick is nearsighted and not blind.  You don’t have to see clearly  to rake a yard full of leaves.” says the still quiet voice.  “Do you recall how Nick helped another friend with his yard work?” asked the still quiet voice.  “Nick didn’t have too much trouble, did he?”

“Oh yeah.  I forgot about that.” says John.  “You’re right.  Please forgive me for making such false assumptions.  I will call Nick, tomorrow.” answered John.

Chuckling to himself, John thought “It isn’t like Nick is Mr. Magoo. Somehow, I don’t thin he’d confuse a grizzly for an old man with a fur coat.”

“No, he wouldn’t.” says the still voice to John’s thoughts.

The following day, John called Nick and asked for his help with some yard work.  “Great. I’ll come over and pick you up.  Perhaps, we can have some pizzas later.” says John.

The two men started work on John’s yard, as soon as they arrived at John’s house.  John observed that though Nick was slower than he is, Nick was quite methodical in his approach.  John had only to give Nick a heads up about the twigs and small branches.

“Thanks. I’ll break them up, once I get a pile. ” reply Nick.

After a good day’s work, the friends went out for a good sub.