little while to get started on a new homestead.” We had forgotten the potatoes. We had love and hope and happi ness. We had God who gives the greatest gifts — gifts which have nothing to do with an empty cup board. It was a strong lesson in content ment and its impact has followed me. I have eaten many better meals but none any happier. I have come more and more to realize there is bounty in the riches of God’s glory through Je sus Ch r i s t . There is strengthening of might by His Spirit in the inner man. There is knowledge of the love of Christ that we might be filled with all the full ness of God. This grace is not dependent upon temporal plenty; it is in spite of it. It is when one tries to “ live by bread alone” that he b e c om e s spiritually undernourished. Many millionaires, unable to find satisfaction in a filet mignon, would give their riches for a potato heaped with joy and served with faith. To be a gourmet is not an essential thing. Job said, “ . . . I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). To all who will, there is abun dant living. And he who invites God to sit at his table will find his plate heaped with all sufficiency, with — or without -— potatoes. PEN PALS Michael Carpenter, SA OE Div., USS Ben nington (CVA-20), FPO, San Francisco, Calif.; outdoor sports. Kathy James, 651 Foothill Blvd., San Luis Obispo, Calif.; 10; skating, swimming, camping, horseback riding, Good News Club. Susan Shaffer, Box 186, Moses Lake, Wash.; 10; bike riding, sewing, skating, swimming. Lorie Veronin, 7545 Lemoran Ave., Ri vera, Calif.; 10; reading, cooking, piano. Would like to correspond with a daughter of a missionary in a foreign country. Any boys and girls interested in joining our pen pal club write Pen Pal Editor, The King's Business, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 17, Calif. Include age and in terests. — ED.
BLESS THE POTATOES
strain. Her eyes caressed him and she smiled. Something tight in me, I didn’t understand what, began to let go. “ A n d w e h a v e o u r p r e t t y Mama,” h e sa i d . “ A r e n ’ t we lucky?” Five heads nodded, more willing to play a game than finish then- plates.
“ What do you have, more than potatoes, Papa’s curly-haired Mar garet?” he said as he turned to me. For a minute I couldn’t get my mind off the white mound before me but his spirit was great and I had been dared to meet it. I squint ed, thinking. “ For our cow,” I said, “ that’s going to come fresh in a couple of days. Then we can have milk and cream and butter. And a calf too.” M y s i s t e r wa s mashing her potato like mad. “ And Lily?” Papa asked her. She looked up with impish im agination. “ For my ice cream,” she grinned. Her eyes were round in her round face; her stubby, blonde braids at right angles. “ See, it’s vanilla. I made it.” Papa’s laugh rang and Art began mashing, and Gordon too. George tried, then begged hurriedly, “ M y spoon won’t mash ’em; I need a fork.” Everyone laughed until despair could find no lurking place. “ God is very good,” Papa said. “ If we have Him we do not need to be afraid, ever. Do we, Mama?” “No,” her voice carried a lilt. “ And next week,” she smiled, “ we will have real ice cream from the cream our own cow gives. And we will get chickens. It won’t be long until we are settled here.” Papa nodded. “ It just takes a
i - f
by Esther Thom
D,'Lin. J Can Be QU -¿About Dear God, I was supposed to go to grand pa’s farm today, But grandma is not well, And mother says I must stay home and play. I feel like crying ’Cause all week I’ve planned To ride the pony, Gather eggs, Watch grandpa milk the cows, And help my grandma make some bread. Mother says she’ll have a tea party with me instead, And maybe Jane can come. Even though I cannot go to grandpa’s farm I will have fun. Dear God, when I am sad because of some thing I can’t do, Please help me think of all the other things I can be glad about. Thank you.
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The King’s Business/November 1957
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