Ms. Macaughlen

There are several older guys at the church I work at that go around the building and fix things. If there is a hole in the wall, you let Geep know, and by the next day it is all fixed. If the drain in the baptistery is clogged, Geep will have it flowing again by Sunday. Geep is a real handy man. He can fix about anything. But then there is Wayne.

Wayne is about 70-something. He always wears denim overalls with a plaid t-shirt underneath. Wayne is a little overweight, so he tends to wobble more than he walks. He comes to the church about 3 times a week willing to do whatever needs to be done around the building. When Geep is wiring lights and building something for the children's ministry, Wayne is taking out the trash. You see, they don't give Wayne the important stuff. He is always doing menial tasks like taking out the trash or moving a chair from this room to that room...never anything too major.

Everyday Wayne comes to help out at the church, he always makes his way into the office. He might say a couple of words to me, but he usually bypasses me and heads straight to Mandy's desk where he will proceed to tell her some corny joke. As he walks away, you can hear him quietly chuckle to himself as he goes to do some small chore.

Up until today, this is all I have ever known about Wayne. While I was rearranging a classroom this morning for the college bible study we have at our campus, Wayne decided to pop his head in to see what I was doing. After telling me a joke I had heard him tell Mandy about five times, he just stood there and watched me move some chairs out of the room. Then when it came time for me to move some tables out of the room, he came over and helped me. He didn't do much. All he did was hold on to the tables to make sure they didn't fall over. But then he said, "One time I heard a Baptist preacher tell a great story. Want to hear it?" I told him sure and continued with my work.

He went on to tell me a story about a lady named Ms. Macaughlen...

One day a deacon in a baptist church went up to his preacher and said, "Pastor, a lady by the name of Ms. Macaughlen died yesterday, and she left a note saying she wants you to do her funeral." Thinking out loud, the preacher said, "Well, her name doesn't ring a bell. There are 1,500 members in this church." Then he asked the deacon, "Tell me some things about her so I'll have something nice to say about her during the funeral. Was she a sunday school teacher?" The deacon didn't think she was. "Was she in the choir?" the preacher quickly asked. The deacon once again replied in the negative. Quesiton after question the preacher asked the deacon about how Ms. Macaughlen might have served at the Baptist church, but they couldn't think of anything she had done besides that she attended every Sunday. The preacher thought to himself, "Regualr attendance is a good start. I'll be able to throw something together for her funeral."

The next day happened to be Easter Sunday, and the Baptist preacher was preaching a great emotional sermon. However, when he reached down under the podium to grab his glass of water to relieve his dry throat, he found nothing. No glass of water. He abruptly ended his sermon because he didn't have any water, and he walked off the stage. After the service the deacon walked up to the preacher and said, "Pastor, you were preaching a great sermon. Why did you end so quickly?" The preacher replied, "I didn't have my glass of water under my podium that I have ever Sunday." Then it hit the deacon. He said, "Oh, yea. That is what Ms. Macaughlen does every Sunday. She gets you a glass of water.

After telling the story, Wayne said in his raspy voice, "You see, the preacher never realized that Ms. Macaughlen filled up that water for him every Sunday. It is those little things the really count...Those small things that people do that matter."

I just sat there amazed at the simple story I had just heard from this old, simple man. I was currently moving table and chairs, something I have to do every week and I sometimes complain about. Wayne doesn't have beyond a 5th grade education, but that old guy has more wisdom then this Christian college graduate typing this post. Thanks Ms. Macaughlen. Thanks Wayne.