156A

The Flagpole

From "In the Midst of Thee," Volume 1 available from and participating bookstores.

I was taught in Church once that we sometimes make the Gospel too complicated. It really is plain and simple. So in the spirit of heavenly simplicity, may I share a simple story?

My son was searching for an Eagle Project to complete the requirements for his Eagle Scout Award. After some searching and connecting with the right people, he decided to build and install a flagpole at a friend’s place of employment.

He worked hard, as did others, putting in the required forty hours just in the preliminary work of obtaining the materials, and preparing them for installation. Some very generous and kind people helped him. Then, just days before he was to put it in, he received a phone call telling him that the project was off. His friend had received instructions that no flagpole was to be put in for any reason.

Well, now Jed had a real problem. The materials were bought, and he had substantial donations of time, money, and effort, most of which was unreturnable. What was he going to do? – A flagpole and nowhere to put it.

Well, he went to work harder. For 2½ months both of us looked for somewhere else to install the pole. We explored every option we could think of, all to no avail; nothing panned out. Finally, in mid-March on a Saturday, our last option fell through.

That night as Jed went to bed, he knelt to pray, and he asked the Lord to help him with his Eagle Project. Later that same night as I went to bed, I also asked the Lord for help.

The next morning at Church, I was helping in the nursery with the children as was Scott, one of Jed’s scout leaders, when Cheryl, a friend, walked in. She struck up a conversation with Scott about various things, and then suddenly out of nowhere she said something like this to him:

“Scott, I need someone to do an Eagle Scout Project. I need someone to put in a flagpole for me where I work.”

Scott looked at her like, ‘You have got to be putting me on.’ But when he realized she was serious, he jumped on it immediately, made the appropriate connections, and my son was off once more and running.

Now – you can call it what you will, but the whole thing is very interesting to me. That was the first time Cheryl had ever been in the nursery, she had no previous knowledge of Jed’s predicament, and that very same week she sold her home and moved from the area.

Now, some may say that that was just a coincidence, and that’s fine if they do. But as for me, and as for my son, I believe in Heavenly Father. I believe He hears and answers the prayers of 15 year-old scouts whose backs are against the wall. I believe He hears the concerns of parents who want their children to succeed. And most of all – most of all, I believe He loves us.

My dear friends, isn’t there sufficient reason in your life right now that you and He could have a serious conversation?

Glenn Rawson – March 2000

Music: The Flag Pole – Michael Leavitt

Song: Will He Really Answer Me? – Becca and Shawn Rammell