{"id":5,"date":"2011-11-28T10:45:15","date_gmt":"2011-11-28T15:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simpletruths\/?p=5"},"modified":"2011-11-29T16:11:29","modified_gmt":"2011-11-29T21:11:29","slug":"the-potato-sacrifice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/11\/the-potato-sacrifice.html","title":{"rendered":"The Potato Sacrifice"},"content":{"rendered":"

The story is told of a mine worker in Ireland during the great potato famine\u00a0of 1847.\u00a0 He brought his lunch each day to work; but he ate alone.\u00a0\u00a0Stealing away from his coworkers, he would then open his lunch pail.<\/p>\n

The other workers burned with curiosity wondering why he was hiding his lunch.\u00a0 They assumed that he had some delicious morsels that he refused to share.\u00a0 Finally, they could stand the suspense no longer.\u00a0 Someone opened his lunch pail\u00a0to find that it was full of potato peels.\u00a0 While his children were given the potatoes for their lunches, he took the peels.<\/p>\n

His great sacrifice was actually assuring him that he would get most of the vitamins and minerals that are contained in the potato.\u00a0 Not understanding what science has revealed to us in recent years, this father was enriching himself–rather than his children–with his sacrificial giving.<\/p>\n

While we have no idea whether this story is true or not, it doesn’t really matter.\u00a0 Almost every child could tell a similar story of their parents’ sacrificial giving to benefit his or her childhood.\u00a0\u00a0The principles of self-sacrifice have shown that when we put others above ourselves, we are the ones who benefit the most.\u00a0 Jesus said in Luke 6:38 (NIV), “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”<\/p>\n

And these are the principles that have hallmarked\u00a0the growth and success of Christ’s teachings.\u00a0I’ve worked within the cloistered sub-culture of the mentally challenged (developmentally disabled) community as an area director with The Special Gathering for more than 20 years. \u00a0I see parents who give with amazing sacrificial love.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a>\"\"<\/a>Though her Master’s degree is in education, Margie gave up her career to take care of her two autistic sons who are both housebound.\u00a0 The only breaks she gets are in the morning when the state provides caregivers who bathe them or when her husband can break away from his busy career to relieve her.<\/p>\n

Jim was born with the cord wrapped around his neck.\u00a0The medical doctors\u00a0believed that the damage was so severe that he would never be able to function or do anything for himself.\u00a0 Their prognosis was\u00a0that he would be a vegetable for all his life.<\/p>\n

A successful NASA engineer, Bob and his wife took their son home against the advice of the doctors.\u00a0\u00a0 “He’s our son; and we will take care of him,”\u00a0they announced.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As a result, their son holds down a job, bowls and goes to the Rec Department\u00a0dances every week.\u00a0 He has a girl friend and lives with his friends in a group home.\u00a0 \u00a0Most of all, he loves Jesus with all his heart.\u00a0 He is a dynamic witness for his Lord through the love he pours into the lives of others.<\/p>\n

In God’s economy no potato sacrifice is wasted.\u00a0 Bob and his wife now say that the worse thing that ever happened to their family was when their son was born mentally challenged.\u00a0 However, they conclude by saying that the best thing that has ever happened to them and their family was when their son was born mentally challenged.<\/p>\n

What about you?\u00a0 What are some of the sacrifices you have made that have benefited your life?\u00a0 What are some of the potato sacrifices that you hav<\/a>e seen in other people’s lives that have inspired you to reach out to others in sacrificial love?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The story is told of a mine worker in Ireland during the great potato famine\u00a0of 1847.\u00a0 He brought his lunch each day to work; but he ate alone.\u00a0\u00a0Stealing away from his coworkers, he would then open his lunch pail. The other workers burned with curiosity wondering why he was hiding his lunch.\u00a0 They assumed that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,3,10,11,12,4],"tags":[690,688,7,691,13,694,689,6],"class_list":["post-5","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-developmental-disabilities","category-inspirational","category-intellectually-disabled","category-religion","category-simple-truths","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-inspirational","tag-intellectual-disabilities","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-simple-scriptural-truths"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Potato Sacrifice - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/11\/the-potato-sacrifice.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Potato Sacrifice - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The story is told of a mine worker in Ireland during the great potato famine\u00a0of 1847.\u00a0 He brought his lunch each day to work; but he ate alone.\u00a0\u00a0Stealing away from his coworkers, he would then open his lunch pail. 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