Sammy’s Skateboard
….in everything give thanks; for this is God's
will for you in Christ Jesus (I Thessalonians 5: 18 NASB).
Sammy could not understand why God would give
him something and then take it away.
Sammy was a little blond-head boy from the Big
Island of Hawaii whose family thought me the value of giving thanks to God in
all things.
Sammy’s Mother was a single mom with three
children who struggled financially to make ends meet. His Mom couldn't
afford to buy him a skateboard but that did not keep Sammy from dreaming. Sammy
wanted a skateboard of his own in the worst way and not just any skateboard. He
wanted a Hobie. This board was the Cadillac of skateboards of its day.
Church friends drove Sammy’s family to church
every Sunday. On the way home one Sunday, Sammy spied a skateboard in the
back compartment of the station wagon. The father of the family must've seen
the longing look on Sammy's face and asked him if he'd like to have the
skateboard. It was an old skateboard and it wasn’t a Hobie but it was a skateboard
nonetheless. Sammy was delighted to finally have a skateboard of
his own.
One day not long afterwards Sammy was riding
down the hill by his house on his skateboard. He somehow got separated
from his skateboard and it goes down the hill without him. As fast as he can he
ran after the skateboard, but before he can catch up to it, he watched it go
into a storm sewer. He was horrified as he realized there's no way he can
get to the skateboard. He ran back up the hill forcing back tears until
he reached home and his Mother. He
wondered out loud how God could give him a skateboard and then take it away.
His Mom was brokenhearted for her son and
embraced him. But she also knew that she must teach him how to respond in
these kinds of situations. She explained to him how the Bible tells us that we
are to give thanks in all things, both for the good and the bad. She told him
how God is good even when bad things happen to us. He tried to listen to
his Mom as well as his little heart would allow. Finally, she led him in a prayer
that thanked the Lord that He can take bad and make good out of it.
Later his
Mom called the city utilities department. She explained her dilemma to them and
asked if they can send out someone to possibly retrieve the skateboard. In due
time a worker arrived and removed the manhole cover and descended into the
drain sewer on his ladder. After a few moments he reappeared holding the
skateboard. Sammy and his Mom were delighted. But they noticed he went
back down the ladder. After a few moments he returned grasping a virtually
brand-new skateboard in his hands. And yes, you guessed it, it’s was Hobie.
The utility worker said, “Until someone else claims it I guess it's
yours.” No one else ever laid claim to
it.
Most dark clouds have silver linings. God is at at work doing one-upmanship, always
one step ahead of us revealing His goodness.
Image used with permission by Microsoft
Ken
Barnes, the author of “The
Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Email:
kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
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