don't forget the oil!

There is a story of an old man who carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went, and if he passed through a door that squeaked, he poured a little oil on the hinges. If a gate was hard to open, he oiled the latch. And thus he passed through life lubricating all hard places and making it easier for those who came after him.

People called him eccentric, queer, and cranky; but the old man went steadily on refilling his can of oil when it became empty, and oiled the hard places he found.

There are many lives that creak and grate harshly as they live day by day. Nothing goes right with them. They need lubricating with the oil of gladness, gentleness, or thoughtfulness. Have you your own can of oil with you? Be ready with your oil of helpfulness in the early morning to the one nearest you. It may lubricate the whole day for him. The oil of good cheer to the downhearted one – oh how much it may mean! The word of courage to the despairing. Speak it.

Our lives touch others but once, perhaps, on the road of life; and then mayhap, our ways diverge, never to meet again. The oil of kindness has worn the sharp hard edges off of many a sin-hardened life and left it soft and pliable and ready for the redeeming grace of the Savior.

A word spoken pleasantly is a large spot of sunshine on a sad heart. Therefore, “Give others the sunshine, tell Jesus the rest.”

– Streams in the Desert - by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

Photo: The Christmas tree scene is a piece of unadulterated kitsch I picked up at Costco last year – but what fun! When you put batteries in it and flick a switch at the back, carols begins to play, lights flash inside the tree and other places, and the figures on the “ice” come to life, circling around and sometimes getting so dizzy they fall.