Going To All That Trouble

Everyone has a favorite television show.
I watch very little television, so I am unaware of the current shows.
There is one show that will always be my favorite, however.
It brings me back to the end of grade school and the beginning of high school.

It was a show that was never supposed to do well in the ratings.
No one thought that it would last beyond the first season.
It was scheduled against the Mod Squad and the Flip Wilson Show.
It literally left those shows in the dust.

It was the time of the Vietnam War.
The country was in turmoil.
There was tumult and protests on college campuses and in the streets.
The music reflected the times.

Then a simple show, set in the Depression era, burst on the scene.
It was a show that celebrated family, a strong father and a loving mother.
It depicted a family with three generations under one roof.
A family that sat around a long table and ate meals together.

A family that depended on God and each other.
A family that exuded love at a time when the country was forgetting.
The series’ success surprised the cast and the network.
The show remained on the air for nine years.

The Waltons.
The show with a theme song that everyone knew.
The show that reminded our country what it meant to be a family.
Goodnight, John-boy became a lexicon.

The Waltons was on every Thursday night at 8:00.
It was a show that my mother enjoyed as well.
It was the show we watched together one Thursday night in 1975.
The next morning, she died.

The Waltons theme song is my ring tone for phone calls from my husband and children.
Sometimes I forget to silence my phone and the familiar tune can be heard.
When people hear that song, they smile.
It is the perfect ring tone for my family.

I remember an episode about Jason, the second son.
He was burning his candle at both ends and had collapsed in total exhaustion.
At the end of that show, as he was recovering, Grandma spoke to him.
I will make you those special deviled eggs you like, she said with her hand under his chin.

Oh, don’t go to any trouble.
If it pleasures you, then it isn’t any trouble.
She went off to the kitchen to make Jason’s special deviled eggs.
I have made deviled eggs and they are a lot of trouble but to her, it was worth it.

I thought of that scene the other day.
A precious little boy from our church was celebrating his sixth birthday.
Our family is very close to this family.
I usually bake the boys’ favorite dessert and stop by to see them on their birthdays.

I sent his mom a text that morning, knowing this little boy does not like chocolate.
What would he like me to bake him for his birthday?
A text came back a bit later.
I asked him and he said pumpkin pie ’cause that’s his favorite.

I told him that Mrs. Gallagher might not be able to make a pie for his birthday.
OK, then, popcorn! He said without missing a beat.
I laughed as I could picture this little boy with his impish grin saying just that.
He will get both! I answered as we arranged a time for me to stop over.

I thought of Grandma on The Waltons.
If it pleasures you, then it isn’t any trouble.
Even though making a pie is a bit more involved than baking brownies, he is worth it.
The little niceties we do for someone else really matter.

It is not the amount of the gift.
It is not where we bought it or how we have it wrapped.
It is the giving of ourselves especially when it is inconvenient.
The person matters so it isn’t any trouble.

This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends…This is what I command you: Love one another. (John 15: 12, 13, 17)

Love when it’s hard.
Love when you don’t feel like it.
Love when the other person doesn’t deserve it.
Love when they are difficult and ungrateful.

Love like Jesus loves.
That is terribly hard to do without the help of the Holy Spirit.
Left to ourselves, our answer would be: It is too much trouble.
But that’s not the way Jesus does things.

The disciples told Jesus about the beheading of John the Baptist.
Jesus withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.
However the crowds followed Him on foot.
He had compassion on them and fed five thousand of them miraculously. (Matthew 14)

Jesus comes down from the mountain after being transfigured in all His glory.
He comes down the mountain and is met by the father of a demon possessed boy.
Jesus’ disciples could not drive the demon out because their faith was small.
Jesus rebuked the demon and the boy was healed at that moment. (Matthew 17)

Jesus was often detoured in His ministry.
Jesus was asked to do things when He was tired and hungry and needed time alone.
If it pleasures you, then it isn’t any trouble.
The YOU that Jesus was talking about was His Father.

Healing, feeding the multitudes, and casting out demons pleased the Father.
It wasn’t any trouble for Jesus.
Jesus’ Father was pleased.
This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17)

Go ahead.
Do something that pleases someone else today.
Do something for them even, or most especially, if it is a bit troublesome for you.
Love one another and please your Heavenly Father.