I remember a story entitled “Stone Soup” that told of a hungry soldier who came into a town hoping to find something to eat.  However, the residents of the town were rather selfish and told the man that they had no food to share.  “No problem”, he said, “I have a magic stone that can make wonderful tasting soup.  All I need is a large kettle over a fire and some water in which to cook the stone.”  Immediately the townsfolk produced a kettle, water and built a fire under it.  The soldier reached into his pocket and pulled out a rather small, ordinary looking stone, and plopped it into the kettle.  Now the entire town gathered in a crowd around the pot watching and waiting for the mysterious stone to do its work.  After a few minutes the soldier reassured the people that the soup would really be tasty, however, it would be better if they had a few potatoes to put in the pot with the stone.  In a flash, several of the townsfolk were off to their homes and produced a large pile of potatoes.  The soldier went right to work with his knife, peeling and slicing, and dropping the spuds in the pot.  While he was doing this, he remarked how he had discovered that a small piece of meat would compliment the taste of the potatoes.  Immediately several people produced some very nice cuts of beef.  The afternoon continued with the soldier suggesting various additions to the miraculous concoction.  By supper time, the townsfolk had produced a luscious spread of desserts, breads, and refreshments.  At last the soup was ready, and the entire town sat down to a fabulous feast. At the end of the evening, when everyone was well fed and ready to retire, the soldier reached into the empty pot, took out his stone, and as he slid it into his pocket continued down the road.

Douglas County was visited a few years ago by Extreme Makeover.  They came to tell us they could do a miraculous makeover of the Huber Family home.  However, their job would go better if people gave their time, talents and money to the cause.  Hundreds of people responded, and in roughly a week, the Huber family home was transformed.

Now that Extreme Makeover has moved off down the road, haven’t they left us with the realization that what we did as a community with them, can still be done as a community without them.  Their presence was simply a “stone” that brought us together to do what we already could do on our own.  Should it stop with their leaving?  Was there not a number of families recommended for their help that were turned down?  Has their situation changed?  Do we not have a local chapter of Habitat for Humanities?  Are there not people in need of support and help from our community?  Could we not enjoy the same sense of joy and satisfaction by helping these as we did with Extreme Makeover?

It was great to have Extreme Makeover come to our area, not for the notoriety, but for the fact that they reminded all of us of the potential we have as a community to love and care for one another, along with the joy and pride we shared in meeting the needs of just one family.  For a little over a week, we experienced what a community can do when it works together.  So what are we waiting for?  Let’s make some soup!

Pastor Mark