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4.29.2012Sabbath Keepers
As important as the stories told about us are
the early things we remember and the stories that we tell about our
families. The Macys were Sabbath
Keepers. So were most of their neighbors.
Since no stores were open it was not hard to not buy on the Sabbath. There really no public entertainments to be
had, so refraining from them was not hard. The only thing to refrain from was
work, so farm chores were kept to the essential care of the livestock.
Children played quietly, if at all. And church was attended; Sunday School,
worship and Evening Worship, which was another preaching service much like the
morning one. At home, Bibles were read
and hymns played on the piano. Food was mostly cooked the day before and
enjoyed at family tables. People stayed in their best clothes all day, and often paid visits to family and neighbors. The Macy children had one tale they told about
Sabbath Keeping. It told you everything you needed to know about their father.
It went like this.
Out at the end of the lane, Harlan kept a
chalkboard. On it he posted any extra produce or supplies that he had for
sale. His prices were fair and his
produce and stock were always quality. Folks noticed what he put on his
board. One Sunday a man stopped by the
farm during the afternoon rest period and asked for Harlan. The board said that there were lambs for sale.
Harlan took the man out to the barn and let him inspect the lambs. The man offered
him his asking price for the lot of them. Harlan said that he would be happy to
promise them to him, but that being as it was Sunday, he could not take any
money or let the man take the lambs. He would have to come back on Monday. The
man was put out, and thought it an attempt to get a better price. He hemmed and
hawed and raised his offer just a bit. Harlan stood firm. He was not selling
any lambs on the Lord’s Day, - it was unscriptural. The man left angry and didn’t come back.
Now, being the depression, Harlan could have
used that cash. It was a hard loss. The man was not a neighbor or a Friend, all
of his neighbors and Friends had plenty of lambs and little cash just like he
did. No one would have known if he made that sale, but his own children, and
his own conscience, and his Lord. Harlan was an immovable object when it came
to the Sabbath. A couple of children thought to themselves that perhaps dad should
have taken the money. Harlan did not
give it another thought.
Come Monday, mid-day, another stranger rolled
up the lane. Two strangers in two days was a noticeable event. This man was
also interested in lambs. He thought the lambs in question were excellent
quality and without prompting or negotiation offered a higher price than the
best price of the previous day. Harlan sold
those lambs. And at the supper table read
to his children about Sabbath Keeping and God’s abundant provision for those
who follow His precepts. The children
took the lesson in somewhere deep and were telling the story 70 years later.
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