March 15, 2009
Scripture Reading
Therefore, as
God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with
each other and forgive whatever grievances
you may have against one another. Forgive as
the Lord forgave you. And over all these
virtues put on love, which binds them all
together in perfect unity.
- Colossians 3:12-14
Thought of the Day
The world lost
a very special lady this week. Myrtice
McCurdy lived almost her entire life in Stone
Mountain, Georgia. She was one hundred years
old when she died. Myrtice was an amazing
woman. She still lived in the family home
that she moved into in 1918. She taught
fourth grade at Stone Mountain Elementary
School for 43 years. "She taught us more
than the three R's." said Annette Slaughter,
one of her former students. "She taught us to
respect our families, to respect our God and
our country. And that's something that stuck
with us forever." She also taught Sunday
School at Stone Mountain First Baptist Church
for 50 years. Miss McCurdy never married and
lived with her sister Mary her whole life.
They say it would be impossible to list all
the students that the two sisters helped send
to college. They either provided the money
or found funds for the students.
There was also
something very unique about Myrtice. She
evidently loved the color purple. Now I am
not talking about the movie, The Color
Purple, I am talking about the color purple.
Myrtice must have loved the color purple
because she only wore purple clothes and only
purple shoes. Can you imagine clothing
yourself in the same color day after day? It
sure would take away the issues and problems
of wondering if this dress goes with these
shoes, I guess. It would also make buying
presents easier for Myrtice. As you can
imagine, Miss McCurdy will be buried in a
purple casket.
As I read about
Myrtice McCurdy and all the lives that she
touched over the years, it became clear to me
that she not only clothed herself in purple,
she also clothed herself with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
She knew and lived these words from Paul. I
reckon we ought to do the same.
Prayer
Lord, Help me to wrap myself in compassion
and love. Help me to forgive others as You
forgive me. Amen.
