The Fiddler on a Stool

            The yard is now overgrown by bushes that need trimming and grass that needs mowing.   A sign from a local real estate company tells all that wait at that stoplight the property is available for sale.   As I sat at  that stoplight a few weeks ago at the corner of Winecoff School Road and Highway 73 in Concord,  I thought about a time years ago when I saw a different sight when I sat at that stoplight.   On many Sunday mornings, I would travel that way to a nursing home where I would visit a member of our church congregation before Sunday worship.  While many folks are not eager to see a pastor on Sunday morning, the folks at that nursing home were always glad to see me.   In turn, I was glad to see them because there was something about my visit there that reminded me what I would be praying about  and who I was preaching to when I would step into the pulpit later on Sunday morning.

            On most Sunday mornings when I would sit at that stoplight as I headed from the nursing home to Sunday services, I would see a surprising sight:  a man sitting on a stool in the yard of that house playing a fiddle or violin.   I would often roll down the windows of the car and turn down the radio so I could hear the sweet melodies of a country tune or a familiar hymn that would drift across the highway in my direction before the stoplight would change and allow me to be on my way.      I know not the man’s name nor do I know anything about him.    What I do know is the yard of that house is now overgrown and the property is for sale.      For a few moments on a Sunday morning, the melodies of that fiddler/violinist would be music for my ears and to my soul because a man chose to share his talents with the world.  

            What talents do you have?    What skills do you possess?    I could not tell you if that violinist could sit in the first chair of the Charlotte Symphony or whether he could fiddle along with the tunes of your favorite country singer.   What I can tell you is that a man took the time to share his music with a world that certainly needs to hear some harmonies.    What skills and  talents do you have to share with the world today?   Share them now before it is too late.  Perhaps the best gift you can give is found in simply being you.    Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   God, I thank you for the gifts and talents that others have shared with me that have made my life better and brighter.   Help me to do the same;  through the greatest gift, Jesus Christ, I pray.   Amen.