Let those that the Lord has redeemed tell their story—how the Lord delivered them from the clutches of Satan, how he called them out from the desolate lands of sin— Psalm 107:2–3 (King Jimmy Translation).
What’s Your Number?
In our creative writing courses, we are given writing exercises. An assignment I received required me to attend a meeting or observe an activity, then submit a thousand-word story that included a situation, characters, objective, obstacle, and plight.
Your humble Aggie scribe thought what to do and then remembered the nursing home ministry at his church.
I made the nine-hour trip to western Oklahoma to visit the End of the Road Nursing Home. After lunch, the residents, almost all in wheelchairs or using walkers, with oxygen tanks and walking canes, retreated to the lobby to visit.
“Number sixteen,” an old geezer called out. The group broke into laughter. In jubilation, they banged their canes on the floor louder than a herd of thundering horses.
What made the number sixteen so funny? As I wrote down my observations, another resident spoke up.
“Yeah, but what about number eleven?” he said, nearly falling out of his wheelchair, holding his side. Their heart monitors pegged out while the horses thundered again.
“That reminds me of thirty-one!” At the mention of that number, they did wheelchair wheelies and proposed a toast with their glasses of prune juice.
Thoroughly confused, I sought out the director. “What’s going on here? They call out a number and everyone laughs.”
“Oh, that?” he smiled. “Let me explain. These folks have told the same jokes over and over for decades. They’ve assigned a number to each joke, and since at their age they don’t have much time left to tell all the story, they just say the number.”
Someone else yelled “Twenty-two!” The residents went wild as if spending a week on a geriatric spring break, and gasped for air after spitting their dentures onto the floor.
“Okay, I see,” I told the director. “I’ll give it a try.”
I waited forty-five minutes while they swapped dentures in a trial-and-error effort to find their teeth again. I walked to the center of the lobby, cleared my throat, and confidently said, “Number Nineteen!”
No one cracked a smile. Many looked away, shaking their head in embarrassment.
Maybe they didn’t hear me? I spoke just less than the decibels of a jet engine. “Number twenty-five.”
Like before, nothing but crickets. Some shifted uncomfortably in their wheelchairs while others stared at their canes, avoiding eye contact. Their reaction should have warned me to quit while I still had my dignity, but I carried on—for the good of the story, of course.
“Number three?” I said, my voice trailing off.
Their moans were noticeable. By now, the tension in the room made the residents wish they were elsewhere. I felt like a piece of hamburger in a vegan lasagna.
Red-faced, I slipped out of the circle and approached the equally embarrassed director. “What happened?” I said. “I don’t understand.”
The director sighed. “Well, sir,” he finally looked up at me and put his hand on my shoulder. “I don’t mean to be rude—but some people can tell a joke, and some can’t.”
Maybe I couldn’t tell the stories the way the nursing home residents could, but one story I can tell with confidence: what God has done for me.
Each Christ-follower has a unique story how Jesus extended his grace to them to change their life. Jesus calls us to share this message of redemption with the world.
Christ rescued some from deep addictions that chained them in bondage for years.
God plucked others from the point of death and gave them a fresh start.
Others practiced good, moral behavior all their lives, maybe raised in church and kept most of the Ten Commandments, (except those pesky first three), but trusted in their own goodness to save them instead of trusting Jesus for their salvation.
Many never set foot inside a church but God revealed his grace in a most unusual way, maybe through a stranger, or from an incident that resulted in an epiphany of Jesus.
Occasionally the Lord knocks a self-righteous religious person off their high horse to get their attention. The apostle Paul comes to mind.
Many tried to live life by their own intellectual prowess, even denying God’s existence, then lost all hope. They cried out to God in desperation. In mercy, He opened their understanding as to who Jesus is and his offer of salvation.
Some understood their need for a Savior at an early age and have lived for Christ all their lives.
As Christ-followers we might not agree on every issue, but one thing we can agree on: regardless of how we came to Jesus, as unworthy of his mercy as we are, God lavishly poured out his grace on us. Before we loved him or even knew about him, God loved us and sent his only Son Jesus to redeem us from the penalty of our sins (Romans 5:8).
Only you can tell your story how Christ changed you. Share it with others when God presents the opportunity.
You’ve done so much for us, Lord Jesus. Show us how to tell others of your goodness and mercy, so others may know your grace.
Stay close to Jesus.
Jimmy
P.S. I tried one last time to entertain my elderly friends. “Number Sixty-one.” To my surprise, the room exploded with laughter. The thundering horses ran wild, but the prune juice spewed out the residents’ noses made the floor slick. The director, his hand over his chest, tried to catch his breath. He put his arm around my shoulder. “That’s hysterical,” he said. “We’ve never heard that one before.”
Jimmy Eskew © 2017
to them to change their life. Jesus calls us to share this message of redemption with the world.
Christ rescued some from deep addictions that chained them in bondage for years.
God plucked others from the point of death and gave them a fresh start.
Others practiced good, moral behavior all their lives, maybe raised in church and kept most of the Ten Commandments, (except those pesky first three), but trusted in their own goodness to save them instead of trusting Jesus for their salvation.
Many never set foot inside a church but God revealed his grace in a most unusual way, maybe through a stranger, or from an incident that resulted in an epiphany of Jesus.
Occasionally the Lord knocks a self-righteous religious person off their high horse to get their attention. The apostle Paul comes to mind.
Many tried to live life by their own intellectual prowess, even denying God’s existence, then lost all hope. They cried out to God in desperation. In mercy, He opened their understanding as to who Jesus is and his offer of salvation.
Some understood their need for a Savior at an early age and have lived for Christ all their lives.
As Christ-followers we might not agree on every issue, but one thing we can agree on: regardless of how we came to Jesus, as unworthy of his mercy as we are, God lavishly poured out his grace on us. Before we loved him or even knew about him, God loved us and sent his only Son Jesus to redeem us from the penalty of our sins (Romans 5:8).
Only you can tell your story how Christ changed you. Share it with others when God presents the opportunity.
You’ve done so much for us, Lord Jesus. Show us how to tell others of your goodness and mercy, so others may know your grace.
Stay close to Jesus.
Jimmy
P.S. I tried one last time to entertain my elderly friends. “Number Sixty-one.” To my surprise, the room exploded with laughter. The thundering horses ran wild, but the prune juice spewed out the residents’ noses made the floor slick. The director, his hand over his chest, tried to catch his breath. He put his arm around my shoulder. “That’s hysterical,” he said. “We’ve never heard that one before.”
Jimmy Eskew © 2017
THANKFUL 
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