Our Daily Bread

“Stop! There’s a good pair of shoes! Slow down, you just passed a hammer! Look at that jacket in the ditch!” As the car was speeding down the highway at 70 miles an hour, these were the exclamations of a hitchhiker to the driver who had just picked him up. After several hours of similar comments, the driver reached two conclusions:

I was watching two sisters prepare Thanksgiving dinner. They had made their special stuffing, spooned it into the turkey, and were preparing to pop it into the oven. They got out the aluminum foil and were ready to cover the meat to help hold in the juices.

While in the military I learned to hate waiting. We were commanded to hurry out of the barracks and line up. There we would stand and wait, wait, wait for our next orders. When getting vaccinations, we would stand in line and just wait.

I was concerned about my neighbor’s spiritual health because he had been in such poor physical health. So one day I asked him, “Are you ready to meet God? If something were to happen to you, are you ready?”

The name of David F. Kies is listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. A small diamond is etched beside it to indicate that he died in battle. But it is a mistake, for Kies is very much alive. He’s living in Wisconsin with his wife and five children.