Faith On Every Corner - November 2021

Page 38

Delivering the Newspaper —Lessons in Thanksgiving By Craig D. Lounsbrough

I started delivering newspapers when I was a tender nine years of age. Had I been an adult looking at the nine-year-old that I was at the time, I probably wouldn’t have let myself take on the job at that age. In fact, I might have thought of such an idea as skirting the periphery of the insane. But with my parent’s blessing, I started delivering newspapers at nine. The Lessons Behind Hidden Doors I am forever thankful for the lessons I learned over those four years and thousands of newspapers. The lessons learned were as colorful and diverse as the people that taught them to me. I can recall old Mr. Hock with his cigar and bathrobe greeting me at his backdoor every Saturday morning. He always handed me a tip, gave me a hearty word of thanks, and vigorously shook my hand. It was the simple things that pleased Mr. Hock, like putting the paper in his door on a rainy day, or holding his paper when he and the Misses were gone on one of their many vacations. I am thankful that I learned that great things always lie in simple things. I am thankful that he taught me that life is not about the grand things that seize our attention and captivate our imaginations, but that life is about the little things that make the grand things possible. I am thankful that I learned that simplicity rewarded is life treasured in the most profound way. I am thankful for that lesson. 38 | M AG A Z I N E N A M E PAGE 38

Then there was Mrs. Ryan, who always gave me hefty bags of fruit and mints and nuts at Christmas with a twenty-dollar bill tucked in among the treasures for good measure. In the lathering humidity of those mid-western summers, she would come to the door with a chilled ice tea in hand. And in the biting winds of those Ohio winters, it would be steaming hot chocolate. I am thankful that I learned that giving is always and forever infinitely superior to getting. I am thankful that she taught me that in the giving we receive, and what we receive is the satisfaction of knowing that whatever we give is always bigger once we’ve given it away. I am thankful that she taught me that to be attuned to the needs of another attunes us to the world and that if I stay attuned only to my needs, I will always be a stranger to the world. I am thankful for that lesson. Right next door lived old Mrs. Tilly. She lived in a wee little house built at the close of the Civil War. She always vigorously motioned me through the front door and invited me back to the kitchen of that tiny house. Counting out her pennies on her old, worn Formica kitchen table, every week she’d meticulously count out fifty of them for a tip. I knew her finances were as emaciated and meager as was the décor in her house, but she gave me fifty cents each week, anyway. I am thankful that she taught me that sacrifice is non-negotiable, and that counting the cost of giving to another is foolishly assuming that we can put a price on sacrifice. I am thankful that I learned that giving to another is not determined by the limits of the resources that I possess. And I am thankful that I saw in life the joy that such giving brings, and how that joy handily dissipates any impoverishment that might be ours. I am thankful for that lesson.


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Articles inside

WHAT SHOULD I BE THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR? by David Foucar

5min
pages 78-79

HOW GOD HAS WORKED IN MY LIFE by Christina Sinisi

5min
pages 74-75

What it Takes to Be a Life-Changer by Tami Thorsen

4min
pages 70-71

MYTH VS REALITY - “I AM WELL, HOW ARE YOU?” by Melody Foster

4min
pages 68-69

The Phone Call by Edward Tooley

6min
pages 66-67

If We Just Look by Merideth Tullous

3min
pages 64-65

Thankful To Be by P. Diane Buie

1min
page 62

The Power Of Praise by Shara Bueler-Repka

3min
pages 60-61

Come to Me by Jim and Esther Bandy

1min
page 59

Reaping The Benefit of the Pain of Friendship - by Joseph Akinrinola

4min
pages 58-59

Being Thankful In So Many Different Ways by Cindy Oriol

5min
pages 56-57

A Time for Thanksgiving by Sharon K. Connell

3min
pages 54-55

Covenants of God by Dr. Irene Surya

1min
page 53

Tunnel Vision by Karen Ruhl

2min
page 52

I Ask by Vivian Satterwhite

1min
page 50

Honoring God Through Adversity–Part One by Jeff Foster

5min
pages 48-49

Dayenu and Thank You - by Mike Buchanan

4min
pages 46-47

Two Deaths by Esther M. Bandy

4min
pages 40-41

Delivering the Newspaper - Lessons in Thanksgiving by Craig D. Lounsbrough

4min
pages 38-39

Road Trippin' On Top of the Mountain by Karen Ruhl

2min
pages 34-37

His Heliotrope by Cindy Evans

1min
page 33

Peace In The Midst Of Problems - by Juliana Gordon

3min
pages 32-33

My Clean House by Gini Walker

2min
page 31

Be Thankful by Rolanda T. Pyle

1min
page 30

Inspiration Comes In All Forms by Colette Shomaker

5min
pages 28-29

Poetry By Peter Caligiuri

2min
pages 26-27

Serving At Thanksgiving by Craig Ruhl

3min
pages 24-25

Come and Dine by Dave Evans

3min
pages 22-23

November Prayer by Tynea Lewis

1min
page 21

Renewing The Spirit by Gina Sewell

2min
page 20

The Power Of Words by Yvonne M. Morgan

3min
pages 18-19

THE RICHEST FOOD by Nicole Byrum

4min
pages 16-17

Morning Coffee With Michael E. Wells

4min
pages 14-15

Drink Tea! by Dr. Kathleen B. Oden

2min
pages 12-13

All Things New by Andrea Marino

4min
pages 10-11

The Kid’s Table by Melissa Henderson

4min
pages 8-9

Thanksgiving Thoughts and Poems by John Alexander

2min
pages 6-7

Faith On Every Corner - November 2021

1min
pages 1-2

THE LOCAL CHURCH—A GIFT OF GOD’S GRACE - By Joel Berry

5min
pages 72-73
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