Love versus love: a post-Valentine’s reflection
Valentine’s Day has come and gone. Whitney Houston is best known for the love-song ballad “I will Always Love You”. Her voice damaged in recent years by her drug addiction, she died just before V-Day at 48, much too young. At the Grammy Awards, dressed in a sleek black gown, Jennifer Hudson sang once again this magnificent song, tenderly and poignantly.
The inspirational story below is about Love versus love. It reminds us of the bigger picture, and God’s unseen hand, when we look heavenward. And when we help someone to hope, the ripples can last for years. Thanks to Sarena for sending this.
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Story:
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could
have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
‘I want to repay you,’ said the nobleman. ‘You saved my son’s life.’
‘No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,’ the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door of the family hovel.
‘Is that your son?’ the nobleman asked.
‘Yes,’ the farmer replied proudly.
‘I’ll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he’ll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.’ And that he did.
Farmer Fleming’s son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years afterward, the same nobleman’s son who was saved from the bog was
stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? Penicillin.
The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill …. His son’s name?
Sir Winston Churchill.
As the coangel Michelle urges in the book, “Help someone to hope”.
“The benevolent person scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever” (2 Corinthians 9).
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Thank you Ian for sharing of this story. I read it with high interest, because I new about Alexander Fleming’s merits but I didn’t know how his start in profession was. In my oppinion this story shows how important is to offer a good chanse to start for somebody and in many cases it will come back in need
You make an outstanding point Boris: “How important it is to offer a good chance to start for somebody”. If only we walked around our world with eyes open to see how we might help to give someone a fresh start. I think Jesus gave a lot of folks a fresh start……
I love it Ian. It warms my heart, and to realize it is a true story about real people makes it even better. Thanks for sharing this. And I do like your new blog-site. God bless you my friend.
Your words “It warms my heart” got my attention. What do you think would happen if once each day we tried to warm somebody’s heart?
What a great story on your current blog. I am lying in bed reading this before I go to sleep and it certainly did bring tears to my eyes. Ian your blogs are all very interesting and up lifting and it helps me realize how lucky I am to be a child of God. I love the way you talk about hope and helping people in time of need is what Jesus expects us to do. Jesus says we are to Love our neighbor as ourselves and that means to go that extra mile for someone who is hurting so they can have hope and pass it on to someone else in need. Thanks for taking time to write your interesting and up lifting blogs.
Thank you Mary Ann…….I love your words “To go that extra mile for someone who is hurting so they can have hope and pass it on to someone else in need”. That says it all beautifully!