Bulletin

The Kingdom of God and Priorities
— Steve Higginbotham

I recently read an article by David Sargent in which he told about an athlete by the name of Bill Havens. Well, my interest was peaked, so I did a little research of my own that I would like to share with you.

Bill Havens made one of the most important decisions of his life in the year, 1924. You see, Bill was an athlete and was scheduled to represent the United States at the Olympic Games in Paris. Bill and his teammates in the "coxed eights rowing" event were favored to win the gold medal. However, a few days before the Americans were to leave for Paris, Bill learned that his wife was to give birth at the same time he was scheduled to be in Paris. So Bill Havens had a decision to make. Do I compete in what I have been training so long and hard for, or do I remain at my wife's side so that I can be present for the birth of my son? Well, despite the pleadings of his wife to go on and fulfill his life-long dream, Bill remained with his wife so that he could be present when his first son arrived.

As the events unfolded, the U.S. canoe team won the gold medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics. And what seemed to be a cruel ending to this story was the fact that Bill's wife was late in giving birth. In fact, she was so late that Bill could have gone to Paris, won his gold medal, and returned in time to be with her when she gave birth.

Now, fast forward to the summer of 1952. Bill Havens receives a telegram from Helsinki, Finland. The telegram simply said, "Dear Dad. Thanks for waiting around for me to be born. I'm coming home with the medal that is yours. Your loving son, Frank." Twenty-eight years after missing his gold medal, Bill Havens' son, Frank Havens, won the gold medal in the 10,000 meter canoeing event.

A great ending, isn't it? But what is it doing in a church bulletin? Well, think about it. A man lives by his principles, sticks to his priorities, is viewed by many peers as making a great mistake, and yet is rewarded in the end. Sounds to me like his story could begin by saying, "With what shall I liken the kingdom of Heaven . . ."

Friends, God calls you to his side while the world beckons you to walk away, not permanently, just for the moment. Now, to whose voice will you listen? And maybe another worthwhile question is, "To whose voice have you been listening?"

Fanny Crosby via Bulletin Gold

The grave of Fanny Crosby, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, has a simple marker that reads, "Aunt Fanny – She Hath Done What She Could."

Fanny Crosby was blind from six weeks of age because of a mistreatment by a man claiming to be a doctor. Yet she wrote more than 9000 hymns, such as: Blessed Assurance; All the Way My Saviour Leads Me; I Am Thine, O Lord; Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross; Praise Him, Praise Him; Rescue the Perishing; To God Be the Glory; and Tell Me the Story of Jesus, to name a few.

Although blind, she was the guest of six presidents and a personal friend to Grover Cleveland. Her 9000 hymns were set to music by every popular American tunesmith of the nineteenth century and still blesses the church of Jesus Christ in our day.

Someone has said, "It doesn't take much of a man to be used of God. It just takes all of him."