He was barely three feet tall. That may explain our affinity for him when we were children. His name was Leo Beuerman. He lived in rural Douglas County, Kansas just outside my hometown. Each day of the week he would ride his tractor into on main drag, Mass. Street, His speech was almost unintelligible and he was unable to walk. To overcome this handicap, he would use a homemade pulley system to hoist him from the tractor to a seat near a wooden box where he sold pencils and pens.
I was young but I remember him. I’m sure it was hard not to stare, at least in the beginning. He made such an obvious figure on the corner outside the bank. But eventually, Leo would become a fixture to me and my childhood as he had long been a fixture on Mass. I just found a quote from his autobiography which shows his spirit:
"One of my greatest wishes always was that I may get into some very profitable business and use my surplus money and help others that are too poor to have something to eat most of the time ... through the teaching of Christ you will see that a helping hand for one's unfortunate brothers is a Christian's highest duty."
Simeon and Anna are the guides for this, our 3rd week of Advent. Oddballs, we’ve called them. Local legends. Leos in Jerusalem. They were both as old as dirt. One claimed the Holy Spirit has given him a special message. That must have provided much gossip for the town. The other never left the Temple. No trips to the outside for any reason. She was always there. That’s just a little strange, don’t you think?
Strangeness has never been a deal-breaker with God, especially when the strange offer blessings.
This week at Soul we think about some of our local legends as we warm up to the idea that oddballs may be outside the camp but fully engaged with the blessing of God. Blessings are not simple niceties; God’s blessings are full of truth and power as well as kindness and grace.
Making Him Room,
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