"The Secret To Living A Happy Life”


Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – July 26, 2015

Centenary United Methodist Church

Psalm 15; Ephesians 3:14-21

 

    One day a young Swedish girl was walking through the woods and admiring all the wild flowers that were everywhere.  Suddenly she came upon a marvelous Monarch butterfly that was caught in a large spider web.  She knew that these lovely creatures do not live very long so she carefully freed the butterfly.  It sat on her finger for awhile, completely exhausted from struggling to free itself from the web, and then it flew off. 

    The butterfly did not fly very far before it circled back and transformed itself into a form the little girl had never seen.  She was unacquainted with what fairies or angels look like, but whatever this creature was she knew how to speak Swedish. 

    The creature said, "You were very kind to free me from the spider's web.  Is there any thing my child that I can do for you?"  The little girl thought for a moment and then said, "Yes, there is.  I would like to be as happy as I am right now for the rest of my life."  The creature whispered something into her ear, returned to being a butterfly and disappeared into a meadow of wild flowers.

    As she grew into becoming a woman, her life radiated and exuded happiness every day of her life.  Year after year, people everywhere marveled at how she always carried herself with a smile and a song. She was always singing as she did her chores.   Most people had heard about her strange encounter in the wooded meadow.    

    What had the angelic fairy revealed to her that was so out of this world that it caused her to live every day with such a joy for life?  The great mystery continued for years.  Everyone knew that eventually people face disappointment, sadness and the betrayal from false friends.  How had she escaped?

    She had reached her 97th birthday and was still smiling even though she was preparing to leave this world. Surrounded by family and friends, each of them begged her to reveal the secret she had kept for years.  She felt that her birthday was the time when she should share the secret of her wealth of happiness, peace and joy. She said,

The words that were whispered into my ear were these:  'For the rest of your life everyone you meet whether they be wealthy or poor, healthy or sick, friendly or sterile, all of them will need what you have to give them.'

    The creature had given the little girl a frame of reference that she could use to define herself for the rest of her life.  She was given the understanding that happiness comes from simple thoughtfulness expressed to everyone every day.

    In our lesson today, Paul is attempting to inspire the followers of Jesus that lived in Ephesus.   He had found the same secret of what the angelic fairy had whispered to the young girl.  Among his words to them were these:

I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with people everywhere, may understand love's vast power. Love's energy is beyond comprehension but it is a resource that will fill you with the very nature of God.  (Ephesians 3:17f)

    Is it really possible for people to be happy all the time?  According to Paul and the testimonies of a host of people, the answer is "Yes!"  This is not to say that disappointing circumstances never present themselves in our lives.  What matters is the response we give to each of them.

    Stories that capture the essence of one of life's powerful lessons have always intrigued me.  Collecting a number of them was and is a hobby of mine.  Apparently, Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen did the same thing when the two of them created a book entitled, Chicken Soup for the Soul.

    Here is a story that never made their book.  When the United States was still young in its expansion westward, many families lived in rural communities.  A boy and a girl grew up on one of those rural farms with a very strict father.  The father hated books.  He believed that books distracted his children from their necessary chores.  He also thought that books put a lot of foolish ideas into the minds of people that inspired them to leave the farm.

    When he found one of his children reading a book, he made both of them sit in front of the fireplace and tear out the pages one by one until the book was burned.  He made his children take turns throwing each page into the fire until the book was completely consumed. The boy became very bitter and hated his father for the rest of his life.  The girl began to dream of one day having all the books that she wanted.

    She began to use her imagination.  She reasoned that if she could not have books to read that she would write them.  She never developed a hostile feeling toward her dad.  Her father's dislike for books was just his attitude about something that he did not understand.  He meant well but his one failure did not diminish her respect for her father.  He worked harder and longer than anyone she had ever known.  

    When she matured and left home to find her own way in life, she established one of the first libraries in the West.  Soon a school was created for the homesteader families that had lots of children.  The school was located in the building next to her library. Her brother, however, struggled with people in authority for the rest of his life. 

    When we think of what the angelic fairy whispered into the young girl's ear, she was never without something to do. She had been told that people at every level of life needed her.  Her life was never boring. Her life's energy was always flowing away from her as it took the form of thoughtfulness toward everyone she met.  

    Like the woman who harbored no ill-will toward her father for his dislike of books, that was his attitude, not hers.  She dreamed of one day having all the books she wanted and that desire transformed an empty building into a library.

    Today, we are honoring the countless remembrances of Stanley and Clarissa Woolridge.  Their energy was always flowing toward others, consequently, their faces were always smiling and their thoughts were focused on how they could be of service.  Their network of friends and family needed both of them to be in their lives.  Most of us can recite numerous stories about them that capture the essence of their being of service to others. 

    It is one thing to remain active in a church family and quite another to invite the entire congregation to your home, have the worship service there and then invite everyone to stay for lunch.   They did that on numerous occasions.  Their home was open to anyone and everyone.

    Once Dr. Leo Buscaglia, who was a well-known university professor in the United States, was riding in a horse drawn wagon in one of the many counties he visited.  It was Christmas time and he was telling the driver of the wagon about the story of Mary and Joseph's experience in Bethlehem when there was no room in the inn.  The driver said, "What do you mean, there was no room in the inn?  How BIG was this Mary?  In my house, there is always room for one more.  Who would turn away a woman who is about to have a baby?"

    The driver's attitude was exactly the same as the one that Stanley and Clarissa habitually used every day. There was always room for more people.  Perhaps one day while Stanley and Clarissa were walking on one of the dirt roads in Locker estate near Hermitage Road, they encountered that same angelic fairy that appeared to that little Swedish girl.  Perhaps, she whispered into each of their ears, "For the rest of your lives everyone you meet whether they are wealthy or poor, healthy or sick, friendly or sterile, all of them will need what you have to give them."

    They accepted those words as a sacred privilege, made those words visible in their lives and never looked back.  Such a simple lesson and yet it is one that the world needs to experience coming from each other every day.  Stanley and Clarissa were giants in our memories because of their thoughtfulness and generosity.  All of us should feel equally privileged to take this simple lesson and make it visible in our lives.