Good morning my blessed saint. I have a brain tease for you. Which natural material is the hardest? Botron; Diamond; Aluminum; or Steel. Well if you guessed the Diamond, you were right, for it is the hardest form of carbon, with the highest thermal conductivity. You may wonder why all of these qualities are found in a diamond. Well primarily due to the fact that they are discovered 100 miles beneath the surface of the earth, where temperatures & pressures conditions are very high.
Friday 1/20
Prov. 27:10c "It's better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away."
This third section of the verse on the benefit of friends is directing our attention to times of adversity, it is focused on the concept of proximity. It is directing us to a concern which we may not consider unless we are faced with immediate danger. We may be prone to consciously think of our need for aide from family, however, in a time of the need for immediate help, those resources may not be adequate. Therefore, we may need our immediate neighbors, for the distance or other restraints may require assistance within hearing & striking distance.
In this age of immediate contact through the use of phone we may not be aware of this. However, it just takes one such event to realize the truth of this matter. Here in California our culture is prone to privacy, or independence, however, when we face immediate danger, nearness is a necessity. For instance, in this rainy climate that we are encountering, nearness is a necessity. When a stream of water overtakes your flooded car, a phone is of little use.
As a young boy I was reminded of this need. We had a pregnant cow that was determined to calve her baby on an island. So I kept a watchful eye on her, making sure she had plenty of hay to rest on & grain to eat, however, we had an intense rain storm in which the water surrounded both sides of the island to the point that Bessie was surround with water all around her, and no dry place to deliver her calf.
A neighboring farmer saw my dilemma and so pulled his tractor into the edge of the water & threw a rope from his wench & assured me that he would bring us ashore to his tractor & would have room to put us under his low boy covered trailer for shelter.
So Bessie's dilemma was she wouldn't come across the creek, by herself, so I had to take the farmers rope from up stream wade into the flooding water, and have him keep the rope tight enough to pull me across down the stream and guide me to where Bessie was. The water was so swift that, I jumped into the water, rode the current down to the island, meanwhile the farmer tied me to the trailer & tractor and once I had tied the rope around both of us, he slowly drew in the rope with his wench, accrossed the water up to solid ground.
He then moved his trailer so we could get under its cover from pouring rain and Bessie began the laboring process laying down & together the neighbor & me, we brought her little baby bull calf into the world. He was so sweet as he layed there on the hay, out of the pouring rain, sucking from Bessie. That event came flowing back into my memory as I read this verse.
The kindness, unselfishness of our neighboring farmer towards me a boy helpless, determined to save Bessie from being washed down the flooded water, in need of shelter, and being pulled to safety. You can bet mom made bread, cake, and meals periodically until we moved to town.
Sitting here in my warm house at the kitchen counter on a rainy morning the sounds of that afternoon come racing back to me. Bessie bawling, water rushing around her, the farmer yelling out his support, his bringing the tractor & trailer, we worked together to save Bessie and her soon baby calf. I was 10 or 11 then but I will be forever endebted to our neighbor.
This verse is "better a neighbor than a distant brother" is so true, we are reminded of our necessity to hold onto those around us. To express our affection for them, to stop & talk, and yes even if needed to care for them in whatever way we can offer. This is the world we live, and we should also share together with others. Nearness is only half of the equation, the other part is reaching out with a helping hand.
So Go With God for He knows our needs as well as the needs of those around us. Rest in Him for He knows the future and He holds our hands.