Elisheva's Favorite Stories

The Ant And The Contact Lens

A true story by Josh and Karen Zarandona
This is Rev. Elisheva's Favorite Story



Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was scared to death, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took a hold on the rope, and started up the face of that rock. Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda's eye and knocked out her contact lens. Here she is on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn't there. So here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff. She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that Bible verse that says,

"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly cross the face of the rock, carrying it! Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

At the risk of being accused of being fatalistic, I think it would probably do some of us good to occasionally say, "God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will." "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."

The Teapot Story

"DON'T GIVE UP AND QUIT!"



One afternoon an elderly couple entered a lovely teashop. A busy waiter directed them with a wave of his hand to sit at a table in the far corner. Upon the table there was a beautiful teapot. Delicious looking scones, sandwiches and cookies surrounded the teapot. The man started to turn to go back to the counter to explain they didn't have enough money for such a feast when the teapot began to speak.

"Please sit down and do not be afraid. My master wishes you to be His guest. Take and eat whatever suits you while I tell you a story." Startled but curious, the couple sat down to listen to the teapot's story. You see there was a time when I was just an old, hard, gray lump of clay. I was very sad because I felt so useless. One day a master potter came along and picked me up. He began to pat, twist, turn and reshape me. It really hurt so I asked Him to please stop. But He simply looked at me with a kind smile and said, "Not Yet."

As the teapot spoke, it poured out tea for the couple into delicate cups that never emptied or grew cold. The teapot seemed to glow and light the dark corner like a lamp as it continued its story.

Next He put me on this wheel and He began to spin me around and around. I got so dizzy that I couldn't even see where I was going, and I began to feel ill. I begged him, "Please let me off!" And he replied, "Not yet."

The worst was yet to come, however, My master then put me into the oven. It was so incredibly hot that I cried and cried to be let out. But all He said was, "Not yet."

Finally, the oven door opened. He took me out and set me on a table. I thought, Whew! Thank goodness that is over! But then He began to paint me with this awful smelling stuff. I could hardly breathe when He put me back into the oven for a second time. It was even hotter than before! I thought I would die for sure. Just when I was ready to give up, He gently lifted me from the oven.

After a long rest, my master came by and picked me up. I could clearly see my reflection in His eyes and saw that I had been transformed. I was now beautiful. He told me that it was my reward for being so patient and strong. I asked Him how I could repay Him and His face lit up.

YAHUSHUA ha MASHIACH (JESUS CHRIST) My LORD and Master then explained my purpose to me: " Pour out your story to everyone you meet. Don't be discouraged, if they don't hear or understand you. Keep your lid open a crack so I may fill you with my spirit where ever you may be. I will guide you all the rest of your days."

The teapot then seemed to glow even brighter as it finished sharing, "It is such an honor to serve my Master that I have been filled with joy ever since!"

The couple had tears in their eyes when the teapot finished its tale. They promised to also share his story with others and come often to visit. This delighted the teapot even more. He knew his Master would be pleased. The teapot was serving his purpose.

II Corinthians 1:3-4
(God)wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them the same help and comfort God has given us!

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's workmanship, created in YAHUSHUA to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do

Personal note from Rev. Sherrie.

But there was a time in my life when nobody wanted me, nobody liked me, nobody paid any attention to me. They just kicked me around and walked on me. But now I am special, but I wasn't always this way! Now he uses my pain to minister to others, so they know they are not alone in their sufferings, YAHUSHUA ha MASHIACH takes the time to mold us and make us more into his image so we could glorify HIM and Father YAHUVEH!

Romans 8 says that we are predestined to be molded into the image of YAHUSHUA. Wow! That was YAHUVEH's plan from the very beginning even before we showed up on planet earth. He says, "I want you to be just like MY Son, YAHUSHUA."

That will obviously take a work in our lives because by the time we submit our lives to YAHUSHUA we usually have quite a few problems, made a lot of mistakes that take YAHUVEH time to get us out of them and we need a pretty awesome work done in us.

YAHUVEH wants to do something through you, so you have got to let him do something to you. Every time we come up a little bit higher a little bit of our flesh has to go down lower. He is the Potter and we are the clay. Let him mold us into his image. It hurts a heck of a lot, but in the end we will see it was for a purpose, and it is worth it!

We are all in this fiery furnace together and the Bible says in I Peter, I:7, "That the trial of your faith being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it might be tried with fire, might be found onto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of YAHUSHUA." It says in Psalms 34:19 "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all!

Read Prophecy #7 (No More Crumbs) and hang on tight to the hem of YAHUSHUA's garment with me! OK?
Is there really any other choice?
He will deliver us in YAHUSHUA's timing!
Not ours!