Christa and Mr. Scarecrow continue down the religious road, arm in arm. For several miles they enjoy the warmth of the sunshine on their skin, the beauty of flowers blooming over the bright green rolling hills as they sing to the sounds of chirping birds. Mr. Scarecrow stops to pick Christa a bouquet of wildflowers growing along the side of the path. She adds them to her basket and thanks him. They continue on, stopping only to feast on good fruits and daily bread. and take a day of rest.
The sun turns up its dial, adding heats to the atmosphere. The pressure rises as the air grows muggy. Its rays strike down upon their skin turning it red.
'I think I could burn up. Mr. Scarecrow wipes his brow with his handkerchief. 'I wish I could think of a way to shield us from the sun.'
'How about we take shelter in the shade of that tree over them for awhile?' Christa pointing a lonely large tree off the right side of the path.
'We wouldn't be safe there. It is too far off the path.' Mr. Scarecrow sighs. He continues to walk along the path. 'Come along, Christa, the map says that we will be rewarded for our dedication.'
Christa wipes the sweat out her brow before catching up with Mr. Scarecrow. A stranger offers them a bottle of water. They thank him and continue into the blazing heat. Later down the path Christa sees a bin of umbrellas in a shop window. 'We should stop at this shop. Two small umbrellas would provide us some shade.'
Mr. Scarecrow nods and they enter the shop. There Mr. Scarecrow convinces purchase a large umbrella instead, He holds onto the bulky object and they continue on the road. Their smiles return as their skin feels the relief.
Nevertheless, the road's bricks absorb the sun's heat and they feel the burn through their shoes. Christa's feet grow heavy and she trips on a raised paver that she couldn't see.. She falls to the ground and grabs her ankle. 'I think I twisted my ankle. I don't know, if I can walk.'
'You can lean on me.' Mr. Scarecrow says helping her up. ' I think I see the place of the one who can help a mile or so ahead.'
Christa nods and wobbles along as she lends into Mr. Scarecrow. The heat rises again as they move along. The sweat from Mr. Scarecrow's hand makes it difficult for him to hold on to the umbrella. It sips in his hand several times. He takes his eyes off the path to regain control of it . With each slip, more sweat pours down his forehead. The sweat flood over his eyes and his vision become blurry. Christa's ankle grows more painful and she does not see Mr. Scarecrow wonder off the path. Suddenly bumps into a large object. The umbrella flies out of his hand as topple over the object and Christa falls down on the dirt and blacks out. Mr. Scarecrow's shouts awake her.
'My shoulder! Something is wrong with my shoulder!' Mr. Scarecrow cries out gripping onto his right shoulder.
Christa's eyes are distracted by the stone that Mr. Scarecrow fall over. 'Oh my!' she gasps, 'Oh my! Heart attack?'
Mr. Scarecrow frown, 'did you hit your head? I said I hurt my shoulder, not that where is something wrong with my heart.'
Christa shakes her head and looks around, 'No, I was not talking about you. That object that tipped you is a tombstone and it says, 'Heart attack" and this tombstone over here reads, "car accident" Christa points to another tombstone, 'and that one says "cancer" I think we are in a graveyard.'
'What are you people doing here!" a tall woman in gray scrubs squeaks. Grabbing her lower back.
Mr. Scarecrow clenches his jaw, squeaks, 'we are lost. Do you know where...'
'...that obvious.' The tall, thin woman crosses her arms. and she closes her eyes 'This is a place for the dead... you both sound alive enough to me. Now you need to go and let them have a little peace.'
'Christa moans, If you could tell us where to find a...'
'...the religious road.' Mr. Scarecrow cuts her off.
The woman scans the two friends before answering, 'A road isn't going to help fix you or your friend, mister.. What you need right now is a doctor!' This lady woman has a big goose egg on her head and your shoulder appears to dislocated and you are both are bleeding' The woman said looking at the two.
'Can you tell us where the nearest hospital is? ' Christa chokes back tears.
'There isn't one within fifty miles.' The woman shakes her head, 'Luckily for you, I was a practicing physician not too long ago.' the tall woman offers Christa a hand up. 'We need to check your head out. It appears you hit it pretty hard.'
She helps both of them inside her house where she check Christa over for an concussion and gives her an ice pack as well as pain pills for her head. Next, she sits Mr. Scarecrow's shoulder back into place, places it in a swing she makes out of an old T-shirt and bandage his wounds from his fall. After, giving him pain meds, she tends to Christa's ankle.
'You both may rest here for awhile. I have to finish up my last autopsy before my deadline expires.'
Mr. Scarecrow begin to snore not long after she leaves. Christa notices the empty white walls and two pieces of dark gray furniture. The only colorful part of the room is the woman's wall of book shelves. She hobbles over to looks at them. Her hands thimble through several medical books medical books from medicine to treatments to anatomy. Christa also sees several books on overcoming challenges and strategies for success. On the bottom shelve, she finds books on divorce and betrayal and one on malpractice, but her eyes lock upon a dusty Bible hidden under a stack of books about coping with lost.
Soon, the woman enters the room again and Christa asks, 'What did you mean by you were a practicing physician?
'I...I...' the woman sighs, 'It's a long, complicated.'
'I did not mean to pry...I just was curious what would make you want to become an undertaker.'
'It was not a want...' she huffs, 'It was...redirection.' the woman looks out the window at the graves. 'Frankly, I hate to talk especially about the past.'
Christa gives her a half smile and reaches for her Bible. 'No worries, I will just read until my friend awaken and we will be out of your hair.'
The woman glares at her Bible, 'I have somewhere else to be!' and she storms out of the room.'
Christa reads for a hour, places her Bible back in the basket and then bows her head to pray. Her amen collides with screaming of a teapot. The woman comes into the room and asks, 'would you...I am sorry... I did not get your name?'
'"It's Christa. Just Christa"
'Christa, would you like some herbal tea?'
'Yes, that would be nice.'
The woman comes back into the room with the cups of tea and hands one to Christa. 'Thank you. ' Christa says accepting the cup.
The woman grins, 'look, I must apologize for my rude behavior early. It just...that book trigger a lot of memories for me... Preaching is the last thing I need right now.'
'I was planning peaching. In fact, I am the last person who should be doing that....' Christa tells the woman how her life fell apart and how she is trying to find someone who can help her understand Bible, so she can regain control over her life.
'Well, I have no idea how to interrupt that and I spent decades in church.' the woman notices Christa empty cup. 'Would you like another cup?'
'Yes' Christa hands her the up.
The woman returns several minutes later. 'I never got your name,' Christa says taking the cup.
'My name does not matter anymore... you can call me...Lady of the Tin.'
Christa's brows tighten, 'Lady of the Tin?'
'Yes,' the woman forces a grin, 'When I was served my community service at a soup kitchen, I would bring in canned good for the homeless. One of the regulars began to call me Lady of the Tin. We got close. In fact, she is the reason why I am an undertaker for nameless. Her son was murdered and no one cared because they lived on the streets. I mean I was an undertaker... before the government ended the program. Apparently, homeless jane and john does are not worth the money it takes for justice.'
'Maybe you can go back to practicing medicine. My ankle and my head are feeling so much better already.'
'Sure it isn't the pain meds or maybe... it is the tea. I am better equip to find the cause of a problem than I am of solving them....'Anyhow, I cannot practice medicine anyhow...at least not for a time...'
The Lady of the Tin exhales and storms out of the room as Mr. Scarecrow wakes up. Christa attends to him.
Mr. Scarecrow continues to be too weak to travel. Over the next week, Christa and The Lady of the Tin continue their afternoon tea talks. Slowly, the Lady of the Tin opened up.
'...Sorry, I stormed out...again. I thought I had my emotions under control...but I guess I am still struggling. The truth is I cannot practice medicine anymore because of one mistake...It was a fatal mistake that cause a young child's life. You see, I was a pediatrician surgeon and was the top surgeon in my state until an emergency operation went wrong. Off the record, the parent choose not to reveal a very important medical fact about their child. They hated me for bringing it up when I asked a few questions. They denied that their withholding information was even part of the reason for that child's death and say that it wasn't disclosed because their child's emotional well-being was more importance and they refuse to accept what I would them. Of course, I was blamed by the hospital and even my colleagues turn against me. The family sued the hospital and I was fired and the medical board suspended my license for five years. I was told that I could never perform a surgery again and I was lucky that the parents didn't sue me directly.' The lady of the tin exhales and storms out of the room again.
The following day over tea she continues, 'later I find out the reason why that was. My husband, a lawyer, was having an affair with the wife. I caught them in the act. He told me later that he was only doing it to protect us financial. He pretended to be the victim with our friends and family. Our pastor told me to forgive him and that I should understand making big mistake. God knows I tried. I held onto hope, we went to marriage counseling and I went to church every Sunday with my husband by my side. Though, it was difficult to worship when I did not feel the power of the songs any more. It was especially difficult to hear God's message of love when my heart was screaming for some ice water to cool it down. In my burning anger, all I heard was the judgment of a man who would never understand my pain. ' A tear slips down Lady of the Tin and she runs out of the room. Twenty minutes later she returns,
'After six months, I just could not take it. I filed for divorce. I had always been successful at everything I did. I was a star athlete, straight A student, top ranking officer in the military. top of my class in college and medical school, married an attractive brilliant lawyer and had a great career, big house and fancy cars. I did not how to cope with failure. I hated feeling. I long to be numb. I turn to a tin flask and lost everything and everyone I knew. Getting caught drunk driving turn out to a good thing for me. After all, it lead to the soup kitchen and this opportunity.' The Lady of the Tin looks around the house. ' I do not want what I am going to do now. I have to be out of this house in two days. I just wish that I could continue my working as an undertaker. I want to bring peace to family who suffer. '
Christa smiles, 'I have to believe that there is always hope. You are welcome to come with us. We are headed to a large city to find the one who can help us interrupt this map.'
'Map?' she laughs, ' I like that analogy...you aren't like other Christians I know. So, I feel the need to warn you to be careful with thinking one person can help you learn how to interrupt the Bible.' I know a lot of fake people who claim they know what God is all about.'
'Well, if you come with us...' Christa smiles, 'you could use that great brain of you to protect us for fake prophets.'
'I did take the Hippocratic Oath and I have to be out of this place in a couple of days anyhow....I will go with you. Perhaps, I will find a new purpose in that city'
The following day the three set out for the religious road and begin the search for the one who has the map's key.
T
he religious road may be paradise-like for a time, but it will not always be warm and cozy. It is easy to get lost thinking that if we stay on that road that God will protect us for pain and suffering. As seasoned believer, I know that is not true. No matter how good we are or how much read our Bible or go to church, there will be one or many elements that challenges our commitment to God.
There are and will be times in our lives when we goes through a hot, sticky situation. In those times, we try to stick to the religious road and hope that God will have mercy on us. Yet, many times the heat rises. So, we seek other resources to help us cope.
These resources may be helpful in solving our problem at hand. Yet, they can become a distraction, if we rely on them as a crutch. In time, they can become difficult to carry especially when the situation grow in intensity. Worst of all, valuable resource can become a blindfold to dangers right in front of us.
People are great resources. Leaning on them for support is not a bad thing. Often God places supportive people in our lives for that purpose. Yet, depending solely on them to keep us safe or allowing them to lead us blindly can lead to pain. In those times, we can loose our focus or we fall and get hurt even as we maintain the moral path.
But God...
Many of my most painful moments has lead me to places or people who helped me become the believer I am today.
God does not allow his children go through a fall without a reason. The people we meet often help us recover while we, also, have the ability to help them in their struggles. This does not require a degree. Most of the time, it requires listening. Giving others a voice is an act of love and it gives hope that the future will be one there are valued. As believers. we must be aware that the Bible can be a sensitive subject for many people for many reasons that are outside of our understanding. God does not expect us to save people. That is the Holy Spirit job. We are to love people where they are. The Holy Spirit will give us opportunity with these types of people and if we pray we will be equipped with the words or resources to be there for them.
God uses our falls to help us fly higher
God does not allow his children go through a fall without a reason. The people we meet often help us recover while we, also, have the ability to help them in their struggles. This does not require They keep us logical and help us keep our emotions in check. But they also need a person with a heart to remind them of the power of hope. ut they also need a person with a heart to remind them of the power of hope. t they also need a person with a heart to remind them of the power of hope. Hence, there is hope for people whose hearts have grown cold. People like her are a part of the body of Christ as well. T eThey keep us logical and help us keep our emotions in check. But they also need a person with a heart to remind them of the power of hope.
For there is a season for everything...
I believe there are time in our lives when we must numb our hearts just to get through what is going on in life. But I also have come to realize that God wants us to take the time to address our pain when the chaos seasons comes to an end. That way, our hearts still are strong enough to hold hope and love.
The Lady of the Tin is a symbol of hope. Her heart was cold and distance because of everything she went through. Cold hearts are not stone hearts. It may take a cup of warm tea to heat up a chilled heart or it may take a teapot full to warm them up. Either way, there is still hope. I believe the Lady of the Tin is a part of the body of Christ just like Mr. Scarecrow. She reminds us to wear armor to protect our hearts, heads and souls from the power of darkness and deception, She serves as a great resource for logical thinking and emotional control. But she also needs people to help her open her heart up and to give her hope for her heart's healing.
This thanksgiving season, I will bring The Lady of the Tin to the table of gratitude.
Very good!