GOD: "I HAVE TIME FOR YOU"
There’s a great story about a California lady named Francis Green. She was 83 years old. She lived on Social Security. She had little money, but for eight years she’d been sending one dollar a year to the Republican National Convention.
Then one day Frances got an RNC fund-raising letter in the mail inviting her to the White House to meet President Reagan. She never noticed the little RSVP card that suggested a positive reply needed to be accompanied by a generous donation. She thought she'd been invited because they appreciated her dollar-a-year support.
She took a train and rode for four days across the country in coach seating to meet the President. But when she got to the White House gate, her name was not on the list. She was heartbroken.
But a Ford Motor Company executive was nearby. He talked to the guard. He spoke with a White House Presidential aide. And he said to Francis Green, "Come back here tomorrow at 9 a.m."
The next day was anything but calm and easy at the White House. Ed Meese had just resigned. There had been a military uprising abroad. Reagan was in and out of high-level secret sessions. But Frances Green showed up at nine o'clock, full of expectation and enthusiasm.
The executive met her, gave her a wonderful tour of the White House, then quietly led her by the Oval Office, thinking maybe, at best, she might get a quick glimpse of the president on her way out. Members of the National Security Council came out. High-ranking generals were coming and going. In the midst of all the hubbub, President Reagan glanced out and saw Frances Green. With a smile, he gestured her into his office.
As she entered, he rose from his desk and called out, "Frances! Those lousy computers, they messed up again! If I'd known you were coming I would have come out there to get you myself." He then invited her to sit down, and they talked leisurely about California, her town, her life and family.
The president of the United States gave Frances Green a lot of time that day--more time than he had. He knew this woman had nothing to give him, but she needed something he could give her. And so the Ford executive and the President took time to be kind and compassionate.
The President of the Universe wants to do the same thing for you! He has time for that, and He has time for you! Talk to Him about anything that's on your mind, and He will listen and respond in His sovereign timing.
(From a sermon by Marc Axelrod, Justice and Compassion For All, 8/16/2010)