A Personal Story Between Vietnam Veteran and Son

Here is another story that I tell when I am on our pilgrimage and it applies to everyone. I like to use ordinary things that most people can associate with. Its a earthly message with a heavenly meaning. So here is the sponge story.

There were three sponges in my kitchen sink and several in my family were using these sponges to clean up. I was curious as to what they clean with these sponges. These sponges all looked the same. As I squeezed the first sponge, you see that cola comes out. So I decided that someone had cleaned up some spilled soda. The second sponge I squeezed and oil came out of it and realized that someone had cleaned up some cooking oil with it. Then when I squeezed the third sponge I noticed baking flower coming out of the sponge and realized someone had cleaned up some spilled baking flower from the counter top. You see all the sponges looked alike until they were squeezed.

We Christians are the same way. As life squeezes us, different things come out like anger or need to get revenge, sometimes tears, remorse from another, greed, and untruth. From yet another there comes love of God. Just like the sponge, we can only squeeze out what is put in. Make sure you take time to pray so that when life puts the squeeze on you and it will – love, compassion, patience, mercy and love of God will come out of you. I will share more than 40 of these earthly messages with a heavenly meaning on our pilgrimage.

Some of this is available in my book entitled “Walking In His Footsteps” by Christopher Cross and is available at Amazon.com.