The Ivory Soap Standard

Well, this will be my first post of the New Year. I really should have posted yesterday, but things got busy, and I'm not going to make excuses, but I do apologize.

On Sunday, December 23rd, the PK's (Preacher's Kids) at my church passed out 3X5 cards, and asked each of us to write down a prayer that had been answered in 2007. On December 31st (8 days later), they posted those responses, printed out on individual pieces of colored paper. They had entered all of this information into a computer, and loaded the printer with colored paper, and then printed these things out. Now, when I say PK's, I should explain, I'm not talking about the stereotypical teen-aged PK's that keep getting arrested for smoking dope or shoplifting, or maybe just always seem to be hanging with the wrong crowd. These are very responsible, twenty-something's who work full time, are active in the church, help plan events (sometimes are the driving force behind events). My point is, I don't know how they found time to even read all those 3X5 cards, much less enter all that into a computer, and then print them out. I teased them a little bit about some typo's that I found; in retrospect I don't think I should have. I found 4 typo's, I think that meets the Ivory Soap Standard: 99 44/100 %. Nobody's perfect. For them to have done what they did, to that degree of accuracy, in the amount of time that they did it, is pretty amazing.

I am also amazed at some of the needs that have been met in my church family in the past year. We don't have many people that grumble and complain (at least not to me), but there are things posted that I had no idea anyone in the church was facing, much less had gotten past. These were all posted anonymously, so I don't know who was healed of cancer this past year, but I know someone was, I read the sign. Someone else had many healings this past year; I don't know how many, nor do I know the nature of the healings, but I am impressed. Someone walked away from a head-on collision. Someone's cousin had successful brain surgery.

That may confuse some people: I talked about healings, and then I talked about surgery. I believe in healings, but I also believe in doctors. I believe that sometimes God gives an individual a talent for medicine. I don't even think that the surgeon has to acknowledge God as the source of his talent in order to perform well in the operating room; I do think that eventually he will have to answer for that if he doesn't.