Little Pencil - by Dave Howard

This past weekend, I was catching up on some work around the house and needed to clean up my office.  As I was clearing off my desk, I found a little red pencil.  Well, it wasn't so much found, as saw it sitting where I had left it when I had taken it out of my bag when I returned from Uganda.

The pencil is about 4 inches long, is red and has the words "Charbonneau Golf Club" written on the side.  This little red pencil was one that I had used during our fund-raising golf marathon back in September of last year - that seems so long ago now.  I really just kept it as a memory of the event, but there was something else about it - I just couldn't quite put my finger on it (sorry, the influence of Ken's puns hasn't completely worn off yet).

When I was packing my bags to go to Uganda, I was surprised to see that little pencil sitting near my bag and I thought I'd just throw it in because it had become kind of an important keepsake and I thought it was worth just carrying it with me.  After all, it had been part of starting the trip, why shouldn't it go along for the ride?

Back to cleaning my office...

Near where my pencil was laying, I found a piece of paper that was neatly folded.  As I opened it, I remembered why I had kept this particular piece of paper.  On it, I had written a couple of quotes I found that seemed appropriate for the little pencil.

The first one was one from Mother Theresa:

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world."

I thought that was REALLY cool when I first saw it.  It was hard to imagine that little pencil in the hand of God writing a love letter to the world - it was even harder to imagine ME being a little pencil that God would use.

The second quote was by Richard Sterns, President of World Vision, in his book "The Hole In Our Gospel" (I highly recommend this book):

"We are not authors, any of us.  We are just the pencils.  Once we understand that, we might actually become useful to God."

Again, what an amazing quote about a pencil.  I was beginning to think God was trying to tell me something...

Little did I realize how true these quotes would be of me as I was blessed by God to be able to be His little pencil in writing His love letter to the world about His work in Uganda on this blog! 

In all of my life, I have never done anything that this many people have read.  To date, we are at almost 4900 views on the blog!  I was curious about where the viewers were coming from, so I went out to the statistics page for the blog and had to look several times to be sure of what I was seeing.  I had expected to see the US and Uganda, but was amazed to see that in addition, there were people who have viewed this blog from the following countries:

United Kingdom, Italy, Malaysia, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan, Germany, South Korea, Canada, India, Senegal, South Africa

There is nothing that I have to offer by myself that could have this result.  This can only be from God and for His glory!!!  I am honored to have been His pencil to write His words and convey His message to the people He has brought to this blog and to bless the wonderful people we served in Uganda.  Already, we have seen many more children sponsored as God has used these words and pictures to awaken hearts.  But there is much yet to do.

Each of the team members who went to Uganda were God's little pencil  -  He chose to use use each one of us in a unique and special way.  While we went to give out mosquito nets, distribute food to the poorest of the poor and love the children, we also went to show and to share His love with people who desperately need Him.

God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever  believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life!  This is the message of hope that God used us to write into the hearts of 153 high school students, an alcoholic man walking the streets of the slums, a woman with only one dress to wear, one who thought she just needed a house that didn't flood when it rained and many more! 

My prayer is that God has touched your heart, not just in an emotional way, but in a way that will draw you closer to Him.  If you don't know Jesus as your personal savior, then this may be your call. Jesus knocks at the door wanting in - all you have to do is ask!  (Don't know how?  Just ask.)

If you do know Jesus as your savior and feel God awakening something in you that you can't quite put your finger on, spend time in prayer and in His love letter to us (the bible) to find out what it is that He wants of you.

Ephesians 2:4-10 says:

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are his worksmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

I pray that you will find peace in Christ and that you will find (and do) the work that God has prepared for you from the beginning of time!

It is in the precious and holy name of Jesus Christ our Savior that we pray and we believe...

Dave