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The Pinecone
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August 2015
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f r om Don J oh n s on , K i r b y P i n e s Chap l a i n
Chaplain’s COrner
During World War II, a German prisoner of war was being
held in a Russian Prison camp. His food was the bare
minimum for survival substance. His housing was wretched,
his clothing tattered and worn. He was mistreated, isolated,
and miserable for four years. He was able to make it from
one day to the next only by clinging to the hope that one day
he would be released and would go home to become a great
artist. Finally, the war ended, and he was released to go home.
The former prisoner arrived in Vienna, Austria, filled with
anticipation of seeing his family and beginning the fulfillment
of the dream that had kept him alive through his living
nightmare. In spite of his malnutrition and ill health, there was
a spring in his step and a gleam in his eye as he disembarked
from the train that had transported him from Russia. He was
greeted by his wife whom he had not seen since before the
war. On the way home from the train station, he confided to
her his dream of being a great artist. His wife gave him a look
of withering disparagement as she chided, “Now that you are
free, you must give up those foolish dreams.” The German
POW did not respond but continued the journey home in
quietness. When he arrived home, the spring was no longer
in his step, and the gleam was gone from his eye. Within two
weeks he died.
Never Lose Hope
What the German POW’s wife did not understand was that,
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” Proverbs 13:12 In
the case of the POW, hope denied was fatal, because hope
keeps the human spirit alive in even the most miserable of
circumstances.
This remarkable story by Anne Graham Lotz from her book,
God’s Story, pp, 261-262, paints a stunning picture that we
should never give up hope, nor take it from anyone else.
Hope is like a star shining through the dark night. It is like
waiting for the dawn of the new day that will be different
from all the rest. Our hope may be in the ultimate change
in our circumstances. It may be in the longed for change
in ourselves. Hope is what inspires u through the hardest of
times. Hope says there must be something better around the
next bend, the fulfillment of that long-held dream. Emily
Dickinson said, “Hope is the thing with feathers—That
perches in the soul—And sings the tunes without the words—
And never stops—at all.” Martin Luther King declared, “We
must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose
infinite hope.”
If our hope is lost, then for us, like the German POW, the
spring goes out of our step, the gleam no longer sparkles in
our eye and the smile fades from our face. And much too
soon everything may be ended.
May we draw strength from the wisdom of David: “Be of
good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you
who have hope in
the Lord.” Psalm
31:24 “And now,
Lord, what do
I wait for? My
hope is in You.”
Psalm 39:7
Till next time,
Don Johnson,
Chaplain,
Kirby Pines
August 13th
David South
Woodland Hills
Church of Christ
August 20th
Reverend Michael Penel
St. Lukes United
Methodist Church
August 27th
Reverend
Lamar Chamblee
Redeemer Evangelical Church
August Vesper Services
•
6:30pm
•
Performing Arts Center
August 6th
Reverend Doctor
Jay Earheart Brown
Memphis Theological Seminary