Rays of Son, week of May 31, 2015

God has the last laugh on a mountain man about gold.

God Has Last Laugh on Mountain Man

 

By Greg Miller © 2015

 

Mountain Man Allen spent every waking moment praising God or thinking about praising God.

 

Every morning, he awoke with a glorious shout, “Hallelujah! Praise God for another blessed day!”

 

Every night, he breathed a softer praise, “Thank you, Lord, for all your blessings today!”

 

As every chapter of his life’s journal was written, Mountain Man Allen cheerfully penned words of praise with his mouth and his heart. “Praise you, God, for this egg-and-toast breakfast,” he grinned. “You’re so awesome!”

 

The lettuce-tomato-and cheese sandwich Mountain Man Allen ate for lunch was not his favorite meal. Still, he praised the Lord. “Thank you I have the good health to enjoy this food,” he prayed.

 

Mountain Man Allen preferred spending most of his time outdoors. “If it’s outdoors, it is God’s country,” he told Mountain Man Alex, his best friend.

 

“You’re certainly right about that,” Mountain Man Alex replied. “I really enjoy looking at all the plants, flowers, and trees God has made.”

 

“Those are beautiful,” Mountain Man Allen stated. “But I prefer the more rugged terrain myself, rocks, boulders, hills and mountains, where I can easily explore.”

 

Mountain Man Allen and Mountain Man Alex had a mutual friend, Mountain Man Avian, who spent most of his time indoors. Mountain Man Avian was an avid bird watcher, but he preferred watching them from inside his home. “I enjoy sitting in my recliner and looking at the birds through my binoculars,” he said.

 

No matter how hard they tried, Mountain Man Allen and Mountain Man Alex could not convince Mountain Man Avian of his need to praise God. He proclaimed, “I’m doing fine without any of that religion stuff!”

 

One day, Mountain Man Allen and Mountain Man Alex talked Mountain Man Avian into going for a walk in the Great Outdoors. As they were walking in a very rocky area, Mountain Man Allen declared, “Lord, I praise you for all these beautiful rocks!”

 

“I can’t believe you’re really praising God for these rocks,” Mountain Man Avian said in a huff. “Rocks can actually be used to kill you!”

 

“Some of them can be worth a lot of money!” Mountain Man Allen replied. “Gold nuggets look like rocks, but they are very valuable.”

 

Mountain Man Avian glanced downward and something on the ground caught his eye. Bending down, he picked up a yellow rock that was glistening in the sun. “I praise you for this gold, Lord,” he said, imitating his two friends.

 

The Lord chuckled as Mountain Man Allen said, “Sorry, that’s not gold. A few days ago, a group of young people were shooting paintball guns in this area and some of the yellow paint splattered on a few of the rocks!”

 

To contact the writer of this column about speaking engagements, including Christian Comedy Fundraising Outreaches, Christian Creativity Seminars and/or puppet ministry, please email [email protected].

Author's Note

God, laugh, mountain, man, praising