Barabas’s father, Frank Heffelfinger, came to visit this week!  Frank works as a janitor at Disney Internet Group on Lenkershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, California.  He arrived here on Friday.  Today Barabas and his father and Uncle Floyd are leaving to go on a week of canoeing and camping!  Oh boy, there is a lot to do to get everything ready for the week!

“I reckon you’ll need to put your stuff in the back of the truck later son.”  Uncle Floyd said to Barabas.  Uncle Floyd calls Barabas ‘son’ because he adopted Barabas.  And because he loves Barabas!  “Right now I need your help to carry the canoe out. 

Now, Running Chairs was watching all the goings on and, as usual, she was talking too much.  “Like, you know, I don’t think you guys will have, you know, like enough room for all that stuff.  I think you should have, you know, figured out that that is too much to take.  Cause you know my mommy said that sometimes you just can’t take it all like when we went to the shore two years ago and I wanted to take my toys and she said that I could only take SOME toys but not ALL my toys so I had to, you know, decided what to take and what would not fit in the trailer, so I think that is your problem.”

Barabas kind of looked up and said to himself “Running Chairs, your name should be Running Mouth!”  And Uncle Floyd only said “Reckon so.” and they kept walking.  They were very busy thinking about their canoe trip!

But this did not deter Running Chairs.  She continued “And you know, mommy said that you can do without a lot of the things that, like that you only think you need but you can pack less things to leave room for the important stuff like the FOOD and the BEDDING and you know all that stuff.”  By now, Uncle Floyd and Barabas were out of sight so Running Chairs just waited there.  She was feeling a bit left out.  Going on a canoe trip sounds like a lot of fun.  Her family has not been able to afford a vacation trip for several years.

The Bible lesson today talks about helping our neighbors when they are in trouble.  Sometimes we kind of walk past our neighbors when we are all wound up in our own life and forget about theirs.  Jesus asks us to NOT just walk past, but to stop and do something GOOD.  And sometimes, the surprise is WHO it is that takes the time to stop and do the good thing for your neighbor. 

Frank came through the back yard carrying more items for the truck.  And Running Chairs started to talk again in an embarrassing rush of words.  “Oh, like I know who YOU are, like you must be Barabas’s father.  Cause my mommy told me about you, that you were in jail, but now, you know, you are a janitor at the Disney Internet Group on Lenkershim Blvd in North Hollywood CA and that you had a car crash and that is when Barabas’s mommy died and that was a bad time but now like it is a better time cause you have a job and because you told Uncle Floyd to adopt Barabas and Uncle Floyd is your, like you know your brother.”

Frank had a lot of things to do too.  And Frank does not have much experience listening to a talkative little horse like Running Chairs.  He wondered what he should say to her.  And you know, sometimes when we stop and leave a little quiet space in our busy brains and stop thinking about ME, ME, ME, God places His Word near to us, He places His Word in our heart and in our mouth.  So Frank . . . sat down with Running Chairs and said “You seem to know a lot about me.  But I don’t know you.  Tell me about yourself.”  And oh boy!  Running Chairs did!  She told Frank about all her brothers and sisters and how she got her name when her father said they were running out of chairs at the dinner table when she was born so he named her Running Out Of Chairs, but now her nickname is just Running Chairs. 

Soon Barabas and Uncle Floyd came around the corner with the canoe.  And Frank excused himself from the conversation with Running Chairs and helped load the truck.  You know, I think there  may not be room for Barabas and Jeter and Uncle Floyd and Frank. 

When we stop our brains from only thinking about ME, ME, ME, we serve God many ways; by what we think in our minds about our neighbor, by the words we say with our mouth to our neighbor, by the work we do with our hands with our neighbor, by the love we have in our heart for our neighbor and by the way we listen with our ears to our neighbor.    THE END

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