Just a Flute
Back in December of 2005, my wife had gone down with a brain tumor and spent a couple weeks in the hospital for surgery. Understandably, I spent a lot of time in prayer during that period. During one of my prayer times, God told me that He would ask me to spend money in ways that I never had before. Even though it might not make sense, I was to do it anyway by faith.
Almost a year later on December 15th, I was going into my bank and a little old grandma lady held the door opened for me. With a grin on my face, I made a comment to her, "Hey, you're not supposed open the door for me, I'm supposed to do that for you."
She turned around and looked me up and down and said, "I'll open that door if I want to. Don't you tell me what I'm supposed to do."
I said, "Boy, you remind me of my Grandma." I kind of got a chuckle out of how she just instantly jabbed back at me and how she was going to do things her way.
The bank was full of people, and the lines were kind of long so we sort of struck up a conversation as we were waiting for an open window. Her turn came, and she went up to the teller. I guess you could say I've got a "long ear" because I heard a bit of a crackle in her voice so I listened in to her conversation with the teller. I noticed that she began to cry.
She was telling about how her son's children were not being properly cared for because he was an alcoholic. She told of how her granddaughter had been writing to her for years dreaming of receiving a flute for Christmas. This little 79 year-old handicapped grandma lady with tears in her eyes was leaning on her cane and telling the teller that her husband had passed away, and that being on Social Security, she just didn't have the money to purchase the flute for her granddaughter.
As they were talking the Lord spoke to me and said that you are to buy her a flute for her granddaughter for Christmas. Well, I went up to the grandma and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and said, "You again."
I jokingly said, "I come in peace! I come in peace!" and then more seriously, "Ma'am, my name is Bob Elliott. I'm an evangelist and the Lord speaks to me. He told me that I was to buy you a flute to give to your granddaughter for Christmas and that it was a gift from God."
I remember the teller looking at me and saying, "Bob, you don't even know this lady and you're buying her a flute?"
I said, "Well, I have to. God said to."
At that time I didn't realize that flutes were $900 for something in just a medium-range quality. After a bit of searching around we found a used flute in Seattle for $190 at a Christian Music Store. I sent my wife and my oldest daughter to drive up to Seattle to pick it up. When they arrived at the store, they told the owner about the grandma and the granddaughter and that God told us to buy the flute for them. Then they bought it and headed back to Portland.
On the way out of town they stopped to get burgers. The took the time to look at the flute when they noticed that something wasn't quite right with it. They went back to the music store and showed it to the owner. He looked at it for a moment then without hesitation, went over and took a brand new flute out of the show case, cut the $900 price tag off of it and handed it to my wife. "We certainly are NOT" he said, " going to give a broken instrument to this grandma and her granddaughter."
My wife called me crying and I said, "Hey Hun, what's wrong?"
"You are not going to believe the miracle that God just did with the flute." she said. As she told me what had happened, I teared up as well. I called the grandma and told her that I was going to come over the day before Christmas and that I was bringing the flute and the story of a miracle.
The day before Christmas come and we went over to give her the flute. We opened up the case and told her the story. She just started sobbing and saying, "It is so pretty." Then my wife told her the story about her brain surgery, how God had saved her from dying. Then I said we had something else to tell her.
"God gave me a word for you the other day that dropped me to my knees." I began, "The God of the universe wanted you to know that He is again showing Himself to His people. You may be 79 years old, no family, crippled. The kind of person today's society basically considers a "throw-away" with no real worth. Yet God wanted me to tell you that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. That our meeting was a divine appointment ordered by God. That you opened that door, and I walked in at God-specified time." Then I asked her if she had ever given her heart to the Lord.
She nodded, hardly able to speak. "I used to go to Sunday school," she said "but that was seventy years ago. I still have the Bible I used back then." Then we prayed and she asked Jesus into her heart, and now she knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that her name is truly written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
I called her a couple of weeks later. "You know, you're quite an evangelist." I said.
"Nooo," she replied, "I am a broken down little old grandma."
"Nope." I insisted, "You are an evangelist. I told your story to a college kid going to New Orleans to help with the flood. He told it to a lady he met on the plane down south. She turned out to be the pastor of a church in Zaire, Angola, Africa of several thousands of people, and that she was going to preach on that on Sunday and tell your story."
She said, "You've GOT to be kidding me." You could her the incredulity in her voice. "MY story?"
I said, "Yes, YOUR story. See? You are an evangelist to Africa and didn't even know it."
Then she said, "Well, come to think about it, the other day I was at bingo, and I told three women at the bingo club the story of what happened with the flute, and they started crying."
I said, "See? An evangelist is just someone with a story who is willing to share it."
To me, there is something really touching about this story. Here we have a little girl that wants a flute. We have a grandma that doesn't have the finances to get the flute. And we have someone who was willing to hear God's voice and prepared to do what He said. In the case of THIS flute, it was me but it could just as easily have been you.
This was a story that changed the life of a little 79 year-old grandma lady. The Lord told me afterwards that the $900 cost of the flute was insignificant compared to the name of even one soul being written into the Lamb's Book of Life. We need to be ready to hear. We need to be prepared to actm so that when God tells us to "get out of the boat," we will just step out and not look down and believe that God will take care of the details. This is the mind-set we should have; the mind that God wants us to have. From minds such as these are born the stories that change lives.
Almost a year later on December 15th, I was going into my bank and a little old grandma lady held the door opened for me. With a grin on my face, I made a comment to her, "Hey, you're not supposed open the door for me, I'm supposed to do that for you."
She turned around and looked me up and down and said, "I'll open that door if I want to. Don't you tell me what I'm supposed to do."
I said, "Boy, you remind me of my Grandma." I kind of got a chuckle out of how she just instantly jabbed back at me and how she was going to do things her way.
The bank was full of people, and the lines were kind of long so we sort of struck up a conversation as we were waiting for an open window. Her turn came, and she went up to the teller. I guess you could say I've got a "long ear" because I heard a bit of a crackle in her voice so I listened in to her conversation with the teller. I noticed that she began to cry.
She was telling about how her son's children were not being properly cared for because he was an alcoholic. She told of how her granddaughter had been writing to her for years dreaming of receiving a flute for Christmas. This little 79 year-old handicapped grandma lady with tears in her eyes was leaning on her cane and telling the teller that her husband had passed away, and that being on Social Security, she just didn't have the money to purchase the flute for her granddaughter.
As they were talking the Lord spoke to me and said that you are to buy her a flute for her granddaughter for Christmas. Well, I went up to the grandma and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and said, "You again."
I jokingly said, "I come in peace! I come in peace!" and then more seriously, "Ma'am, my name is Bob Elliott. I'm an evangelist and the Lord speaks to me. He told me that I was to buy you a flute to give to your granddaughter for Christmas and that it was a gift from God."
I remember the teller looking at me and saying, "Bob, you don't even know this lady and you're buying her a flute?"
I said, "Well, I have to. God said to."
At that time I didn't realize that flutes were $900 for something in just a medium-range quality. After a bit of searching around we found a used flute in Seattle for $190 at a Christian Music Store. I sent my wife and my oldest daughter to drive up to Seattle to pick it up. When they arrived at the store, they told the owner about the grandma and the granddaughter and that God told us to buy the flute for them. Then they bought it and headed back to Portland.
On the way out of town they stopped to get burgers. The took the time to look at the flute when they noticed that something wasn't quite right with it. They went back to the music store and showed it to the owner. He looked at it for a moment then without hesitation, went over and took a brand new flute out of the show case, cut the $900 price tag off of it and handed it to my wife. "We certainly are NOT" he said, " going to give a broken instrument to this grandma and her granddaughter."
My wife called me crying and I said, "Hey Hun, what's wrong?"
"You are not going to believe the miracle that God just did with the flute." she said. As she told me what had happened, I teared up as well. I called the grandma and told her that I was going to come over the day before Christmas and that I was bringing the flute and the story of a miracle.
The day before Christmas come and we went over to give her the flute. We opened up the case and told her the story. She just started sobbing and saying, "It is so pretty." Then my wife told her the story about her brain surgery, how God had saved her from dying. Then I said we had something else to tell her.
"God gave me a word for you the other day that dropped me to my knees." I began, "The God of the universe wanted you to know that He is again showing Himself to His people. You may be 79 years old, no family, crippled. The kind of person today's society basically considers a "throw-away" with no real worth. Yet God wanted me to tell you that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. That our meeting was a divine appointment ordered by God. That you opened that door, and I walked in at God-specified time." Then I asked her if she had ever given her heart to the Lord.
She nodded, hardly able to speak. "I used to go to Sunday school," she said "but that was seventy years ago. I still have the Bible I used back then." Then we prayed and she asked Jesus into her heart, and now she knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that her name is truly written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
I called her a couple of weeks later. "You know, you're quite an evangelist." I said.
"Nooo," she replied, "I am a broken down little old grandma."
"Nope." I insisted, "You are an evangelist. I told your story to a college kid going to New Orleans to help with the flood. He told it to a lady he met on the plane down south. She turned out to be the pastor of a church in Zaire, Angola, Africa of several thousands of people, and that she was going to preach on that on Sunday and tell your story."
She said, "You've GOT to be kidding me." You could her the incredulity in her voice. "MY story?"
I said, "Yes, YOUR story. See? You are an evangelist to Africa and didn't even know it."
Then she said, "Well, come to think about it, the other day I was at bingo, and I told three women at the bingo club the story of what happened with the flute, and they started crying."
I said, "See? An evangelist is just someone with a story who is willing to share it."
To me, there is something really touching about this story. Here we have a little girl that wants a flute. We have a grandma that doesn't have the finances to get the flute. And we have someone who was willing to hear God's voice and prepared to do what He said. In the case of THIS flute, it was me but it could just as easily have been you.
This was a story that changed the life of a little 79 year-old grandma lady. The Lord told me afterwards that the $900 cost of the flute was insignificant compared to the name of even one soul being written into the Lamb's Book of Life. We need to be ready to hear. We need to be prepared to actm so that when God tells us to "get out of the boat," we will just step out and not look down and believe that God will take care of the details. This is the mind-set we should have; the mind that God wants us to have. From minds such as these are born the stories that change lives.