by Barbara Oliver

He was lost. The desert stretched before him, endless, dry, forbidding. He wiped the dust from his forehead. His sweat evaporated immediately, leaving only dry salt that irritated his face.

He saw it coming. The wall of sand raced toward him. He ran. Fear surged through him. No cover offered protection, only a few large rock formations sticking up from the desert floor like giant stalagmites. The storm was gaining on him. He felt the sand bullets striking the nape of his neck. He sprinted toward an outcropping of stone. His eyes stung from the whirling sand. He scoured the rock with his hands, searching for a place to hide from the storm that now enveloped him. He found a small cleft, just large enough to squeeze into. He pulled his jacket up over his head and lay protected from the stormy blast.

How often do we feel pelleted by worry, pain, disease, and death? How we long to find that cleft of rock! What joy to know that we have that protection! Fanny Crosby said it well in her song, "A Wonderful Savior:"

"He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land; He hideth my life in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand."

And as God is inclined to do, he heaps the blessings on us.

He gives us friends. We all have that one special brother or sister in Christ to whom we can take any problem, any hurt, any joy, and know that, even though our words may not come out right, he'll understand our heart's intent. If you don't have such a friend, be one! "A man who has friends must himself be friendly" (Proverbs 18:24, NKJV).

He gives us an earthly family. I love my church family here in Winona. Not a large congregation, we are only about seventy souls. They are such a loving church, helping each other during difficult times, enjoying each other during good times. They are a cleft in the rock for me. I know that during times of crisis, those brothers and sisters will be there for me. I have no doubt!

He gives us a heavenly family. Angels watch over us (Matthew 18:10; Luke 16:12), the Holy Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26,27), our Brother lived and died for us and bore the separation from God for us. We have a Father who gave his most precious Son for us.

Surely, He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, and covers me there with his hand!

Father, our Lord Jesus came from you to enter this world; he then left this world to return to you. We believe that he alone came from you. There is none other who can reveal to us your will, your plan, your character.

He sent us out into the world, also. We do not belong to the world, but to you. He has given us your task of pulling others from the world into the Kingdom. Give us sight to discern what is worldly and what is of the Kingdom. May we never mistake the values of one for the other, or the goals of one for the other.

Help us, O Lord, to fulfill our task as did Jesus. Like him, we want to leave this world and return to you. Amen.

Pertinent passage: John 16:28; 17:14-19.

by A. A. Neale

Medical students in the U.S. must now take another test to get their licence to practice medicine. The National Board of Medical Examiners is giving the would-be doctors six chances to prove they have good bedside manners. The students are negotiating for ten. (Just kidding!)

As a professional class, doctors are lousy listeners. Maybe they're just reflecting the general population, but when I spill my litany of bodily ills, I want a doctor to be all ears.

I hail this move by the national board because too many doctors act like they are God and already know what you're problem is. They're all too ready to whack out a piece of your anatomy or write you off a prescription where they have stock in the company.

Speaking of which, my next recommendation is to give doctors penmanship classes and require they write so that an 8-year-old can read it. Preferably in block letters.

But back to the bedside manners. Here's what I would like to hear a doctor say once in my life:

• "I don't know what you have."

• "I would recommend you get a second opinion."

• "I'll see you next Thursday promptly at 10:00 a.m. Don't make me wait."

• "You look like a cover model for 'Men's Health Magazine.'"

• "I'm going to knock 50% off your bill, because you're such a nice person."

OK, so I can dream, can't I?

But what I do want to see is every one of God's saints following this directive: "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer each one" (Colossians 4:6, NKJV).

A doctor may find it difficult to improve his bedside manners, but Christians work incessantly to better their interactions with others.

• They cut out emotional static to listen intently (James 1:19).

• They take into account where people are coming from (1 Corinthians 9:19-22).

• They see in every person a soul saved by God's grace and serving in the Kingdom (ibid.).

• They freely forgive those who are moving in the direction of God (Matthew 18:21-35; Colossians 3:13).

• They develop a soft spot in their hearts for people, and especially for their brothers and sisters in Christ. They're "tender-hearted" to one another (Ephesians 5:32).

• They judge actions and motives from a benevolent perspective, thinking the best of what people do and say (Matthew 7:1).

• They encourage and praise others whenever possible (1 Corinthians 11:2).

Better bedside manners for doctors may be a lost cause, but Christians are the salt of the earth and show the love and gentleness of Christ in all they do. And I'm thankful for that.