"Twas battered and scarred and the auctioneerThought it scarcely worth his while
to waste much time of the old violin,
But he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden, Good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar, then two, only two?
Two dollars, who'll make it three?
Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three..."
But no...from the room far back a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow.
Then wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening up all the strings;
He played a melody pure and sweet,
As caroling angels sing.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer
In a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars! And who'll make it two?
Two thousand! who'll make it three?
Two thousand once, two thousand twice,
And going and gone!" said he.
But some of the foolish people cried,
"We do not quite understand
What changed the worth of the old violin?"
Swift came the reply,
"The touch of a Master's hand!"
And many a man with life out of tune
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd
Much like the old violin.
A 'mess of pottage,' a glass of wine,
A game, and he travels on.
He's going once, he's going twice,
He's going, and almost gone.
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul,
And the change that's wrought
By the touch of the Master's Hand.
~traditional
We had several children in Sunday School today, and they were a blessing to us, as always. We told them the story about Esau and Jacob. We told them how Esau came in from hunting totally starving, and he asked Jacob for some of the stew that he was cooking. I told them that Jacob said, "OK, but I want you to promise me something first." One of the children added what she is sure he wanted, and said that Jacob told Esau that he had to say 'please' and 'thank you' first. LOL I explained that, even more importantly, Esau had to promise Jacob that he could have all of his inheritance and his birthright if he had the bowl of stew. Esau promised this to Jacob, and he gave up his birthright in exchange for a 'mess of pottage.' The childen were rightfully horrified that he would think so little of such an important thing in his life. I tried to explain that we must be careful that we do not exchange the most important things in life for something that does not matter. I hope they understood, as they appeared to comprehend the concept. 
The New York Stock Exchange dims in importance when we view eternal choices that are made daily in our lives. The Bible succinctly asks: "What will a man give in exchange for his soul?" I have read about and seen losses-I experienced a coworker who faced the loss of a child this week; and I read about a town in South Dakota that is taking the loss of 1.3 million dollars on a business, and writing it off as paid. These are unspeakable losses, but I must guard against the exchange of my soul with any earthly circumstance or possession. 
Below is the button flower gardens we crafted today while we ate popcorn and drank koolaid. The work is very rewarding. Thank you for praying for the work in Lower Brule.
Sometimes my philosophical side runs rampant and it happened to me today after Sunday School while I was waiting for Ray to return after taking the children back home. I started out by remembering the fact that often the children in Sunday School will call me 'teacher' or 'grandma' or just simply 'Charlotte.' I suppose that thought caused me to think about how each child views who I am, and that morphed into the thought of my own feelings of identity. I remembered the nice man who came to the coffee shop and began sharing with me his feelings of a lost identity since he is no longer in the service of our country. Even though he served many years, he shared that he felt lost and worthless since he does not wear a uniform. I also thought of a friend who had worked for many years in a position of responsibility, and who shared her sudden feeling of a loss of identity when she retired from that position. 
I thought about several years ago when I carried the identity of a 'missionary,' and the changes that have taken place since those days. I, along with you, have carried many identities throughout the years that have changed with time. The interesting phenomenon about these identity changes is that the true "I" has been unchanging throughout these 50+ years, though the identity changes have brought huge changes in my life. Sometimes it seems like we who are human and share this earth place our value on our identity of the moment (I am an important person...I am not important-I am a nothing). I would love to become a person who realizes that my true value as a person is only in my identity as a Creation and Child of God; and this knowledge would be ultimate in my feelings of my identity and value in any circumstance of my life. 
