"Lessons Learned From Mr. Stump"

     When I was 11 years old our family moved into the house that I would live in until I was grown and that my parents lived in until I had been out of the house for three years. In many ways that house is still considered by my family as “the house we grew up in”. None of us has been back in that house since March of 1979. Oh, I’ve driven by it many times when in town just to see the old place, but like everything it and the neighborhood have changed drastically in over three decades. Thinking of that house last night I was reminded of one of our neighbors. His name was Mr. Stump. In the eyes of an 11 year-old he was ancient when we moved there. Most likely he was considerably younger than I am now. Although I lived next door to Mr. Stump for 10 years I barely new the man. I know that he had a grown son who lived far enough away that he and his family rarely came to visit. I know that there was a Mrs. Stump, but I never actually saw her. We knew she was there and occasionally there were signs of her such as a wheelchair on the front porch, but if I ever saw her I don’t remember it. And I have an extremely good memory.

     My parents didn’t have much interaction with the Stumps. I don’t know if that was because they were all busy or whatever the reasons might have been. I do know that we all thought Mr. Stump was a little strange. It has taken me a lifetime to fully comprehend the lessons I learned from Mr. Stump even though I didn’t realize I was learning anything at the time. When my friends and I would play catch in the backyard a ball would almost always end up in the backyard of Mr. Stump’s house. That meant two things. Someone was going to have to climb over the chain link fence to get the ball and when they did they were going to have to search for it in the nearly foot high grass. Mr. Stump didn’t seem to have much time to mow his grass.

     On one occasion when I was about 14 I threw a fastball to a friend who decided ducking would be preferable to catching the ball. Well, that ball sailed over the fence and right into one of the windows of Mr. Stump’s house. Being the good kids that we were and acting in the way that our parents would expect us we both ran like scalded dogs in the hopes that somehow Mr. Stump would have no idea how a baseball ended up in one of his bedrooms. Oh, I felt guilty and I nearly confessed my sin to my parents, but alas I failed in the attempt. Two days later I was throwing darts in the back yard at the dart board when I heard a voice say, “Have you told your parents what you did?” It was Mr. Stump. I sheepishly replied in the negative and to my surprise he said, “Well, the window had a crack in it from a long time ago and I’ve been needing to replace it. You boys be a little more careful next time, Ok?” All I could think was “Wow, I dodged that bullet.”

     Mr. Stump had an old 1958 Desoto Sedan. It was gray and white and had definitely seen better days. It wasn’t his daily driver though. I guess he just didn’t know what to do with the car. It mainly sat in his driveway and once in awhile Mr. Stump would start it up. It could be heard for blocks away and the blue smoke that poured out of it probably killed every mosquito in a 5 block radius. When I was about 18 I happened to pull into our driveway in my car and noticed that a tow truck was hooking up to the old Desoto. Mr. Stump was standing by it with his hands on his hips and I could swear there were tears in his eyes. There must have been some happy times in that old car somewhere in Mr. Stump’s past. The old Desoto was taken away and Mr. Stump slowly walked back into his home with his head down.

     One day when I was about 20 and not long before I moved out on my own an ambulance pulled up in front Mr. Stumps’ house. There was a large tree that blocked the view of the back door of the ambulance so I didn’t get to see Mrs. Stump even then. I do know that she was taken to a hospital. A couple of days later Mr. Stump’s son and his family came for a short visit and I’m sure it was so that they could see Mrs. Stump in the hospital. Mrs. Stump was brought back home about a month later, but I wasn’t there to see it and shortly thereafter I moved out. I would stop by my parent’s house many times over the next three years, but I’m afraid I didn’t pay much attention to Mr. Stump. I do remember my mother complaining that bees had apparently built a huge hive in one of the outer walls of Mr. Stump’s house. They became quite a problem when you would go in the backyard. Eventually, the bees were removed.

     I’m sure by now you are asking why I felt the need to talk about Mr. Stump all these years later. Well, it has to do with the lessons I learned from him. I don’t know all of the sorrow and heartaches that he must have faced during those years. I can only imagine what it must have been like. What I do know is the character of that man was something special. I know that he was a Christian because it happened that my uncle knew Mr. Stump well due to my uncle was his attorney. My uncle would always refer to Mr. Stump as a “good Christian man”. Mr. Stump probably had more trials and sorrow than most of us ever have. The evidence? He had a wife that he obviously loved very much who was severely ill for many years. There was never a nurse there so that means Mr. Stump did things for his wife that many husbands would never do. Mr. Stump also had to work. Can you imagine keeping your mind on a job with all he had to deal with? But he did. His anger could have boiled over when I broke his window. Can you imagine how some people would have reacted? What I have learned from Mr. Stump is that he knew the so-called “Love Chapter” from the Bible in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 well. The verses are:

“4. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8. Love never fails . . .”

     Most likely Mr. Stump has passed on and is in heaven now. He would likely be in his 90’s if he is alive. I would believe that Mr. Stump and his wife are now without sorrow or pain and that they are in heaven with God. I believe that when Mr. Stump passed from this life and into the presence of God that he heard Jesus say, “Well done good and faithful servant" - Matthew 25:21.