I was serving as the 2nd brigade

chaplain of the 82nd Airborne Division in 1982 at Fort Bragg, N.C. when

we met our new division chaplain, Jerry Autry.

Jerry was a high type "A"

personality with a lot of energy and I liked him very much. Jerry would

say of himself, "I know I'm a 'flake' but I'm a good flake"

and in my opinion, he was. He would say things like "When you receive

the military mail, throw it all away; if it's important enough, it will

surface again."

Now his deputy was a squared-away,

"dot all the I's and cross all the T's" kind of guy, and Jerry

was obviously driving him crazy. His deputy would try to beat him to the

mail room to be sure he got the mail answered. There is no doubt that

his deputy kept him out of deep trouble. They were a good team.

Jerry's wife was a really sharp

woman who was everything that Jerry was not, and vise versa. With these

two very strong personalities, you can imagine that they must have had

some interesting interchanges, as many of us encounter when two strong

personalities inhabit the same dwelling.

I will never forget one time

when Jerry was telling me something he had done and his wife was livid.

She was on him (probably rightfully so) like "white on rice."

They got into it and Jerry turned to her and said, "Honey, I'm doing

the best that I can." I laughed and laughed. I can remember when

I also, like Jerry, had done something and landed in the dog house.

Now, guys, help is on the way!

I discovered that our friendly neighborhood Kroger in Banks Crossing has,

for just 99 cents each, the most beautiful carnations you have ever seen.

Now if you are really in trouble, they have roses. There is also a neat

little card rack where you can pick out a free card to go with your carnations

or roses.

There is one in particular

that I always pick and that is the one that depicts a man on his knees

wearing a shirt and tie, crawling out of a dog house. God bless Kroger.

Someone has come to our rescue for just 99 cents.

Whenever I do a marriage ceremony,

I usually read from I Corinthians 13, which has been called the love chapter.

I like verse four, which in some translations says "love keeps no

record of wrong." It's my favorite verse because throughout the years

of marriage and rearing children, this verse comes into play daily.

If you think of the opposite

of this, it would be, "I will remember and bring to your attention

everything you have ever done wrong and make sure you don't forget it."

Sound familiar?

Forgiveness is a Godly, freeing

exercise, especially in marriage and rearing children. I often hear of

how parents never forgave a child for something they did and the child

can carry that hurt to the grave. I am often mindful of the tons of sins

we have all committed that our Heavenly Father has forgiven us for through

his Son Jesus.

Whenever I hear of a conflict

situation between a parent and a child, I will often hear the child say,

"My parents were too strict with me and would never let me do this

or that." I always say to them, "Your parents were probably

doing the best that they could." I know that this is not always true,

but I like to believe that people are doing the best that they can.

We can all thank Almighty God

that through His blood we are cleansed. Praise The Lord!

The Rev. Dr. Knox Herndon is

the pastor of His House Community Church (SBC) and a substitute school

teacher in the Fayette County School System, and a former Army chaplain.

The church is currently meeting in the American Legion Log Cabin across

from the fountain on the Square in Fayetteville, and will move to a new

location near Senoia in September. Prayer line 770-719-2365; e-mail [email protected].