Dwight Eisenhower’s – Growing Up Poor

I saw Jesus at McDonalds

Americans have a great advantage over the rest of the world, at least in one respect: we are allowed to dream. What’s more, we can act on those dreams. His father probably had that desire. His father was a common laborer, but with the inheritance from his father (our President’s grandfather) he bought and owned a little general store. One thing about American dreams, though, is they don’t always have a happy ending. That was the case with this little general store in Texas. It failed. So his father had to resort to living in a small rented shack.

A relative found his dad a job at a Creamery in Abilene, Kansas as a mechanic. So he gathered up his family and they moved to Kansas. When his father stepped off the train, with family in tow, and according to some sources, his father had the grand sum of $10 in his pocket. That’s not much to get the future savior of the free world’s family started.

I was sitting in a McDonalds one morning eating breakfast and reading a book. As I sat there an elderly lady came in carrying several bags. She moved privately into a corner, closely protecting her possessions. She seemed to be homeless and had probably come in for a break from the freezing cold. What she carried was probably all she possessed. Just about everyone looked the other way. Later in the day I saw her again. This time she was struggling to get across the street of a busy intersection. The time on the pedestrian walking signal hardly seemed adequate for her journey. Despite the glares of “please hurry up,” she made it across the street. As I watched her in my rearview mirror she quickly faded out of sight as I climbed over the next hill. I have never seen her again even though I travel through that area about once a week.

One of my favorite characters in the Bible, and please forgive me for calling him a character, is Jesus. Taking a few steps off His mantel as the Son of God, He just had such a great attitude about life. I can just imagine him inviting himself to some big corporation. The CEO, the President, and all the heavy weights of the company would be so excited. They would probably arrange a great tour and a huge feast. They would order the place cleaned from top to bottom. They would want to make the best impression.

I can see Jesus walking up to the glass front doors with his twelve disciples closely behind. He would open his own door, and without a glance back, he would head to the receptionist’s desk. “May I help you?” she would ask. “I’m Jesus and I have an appointment,” he would respond. Peter would turn to James and John and say, “Finally, he’s going to meet some of the big wigs.” Judas would say, “I hope they give me, I mean us, a big contribution.” Thomas might chime in, “Once they see us I doubt we will get pass the receptionist.” But it is Jesus who I think would surprise everyone. “Oh, they are expecting you,” the receptionist would say. “No,” Jesus would comment, “I’m here to see the guy who loads the trucks.” What? You see, Jesus doesn’t desire the company of the one that hurries to get ready for his arrival; Jesus desires the ones who have him reside in their hearts all the time. To Jesus status means zero. A heart is a heart and he wants the one that is willing to beat for him.

After the homeless lady disappeared from my view, my heart was troubled the rest of the day. In fact, it is still troubled today. She never asked a soul for a thing and no one offered her a thing, not even me. All the rest of the day the Bible verse: “What you do or don’t do to the less fortunate, well, you might as well have done it to me (the Wayne Cruse version of Matthew 25:40)” rang in my head. You see, I saw Jesus and I did nothing. Forget everyone else, I did nothing.

I’m just thankful that David Eisenhower’s family didn’t just sit there and do nothing when he hit hard times. Stepping off a train in Abilene, Kansas with $10 in his pockets and kids hanging on his arms had to have been scary. He could have very easily bowed to his conditions. He could have made all kinds of excuses as to why he couldn’t have provided for his kids. But there were people that helped him choose another route. He worked hard and was a positive example for his kids. I confess, I don’t know much about David Eisenhower, but I have read about his third son, Dwight David Eisenhower, our 34th President. When Hitler and Germany were trying to conquer the world, Dwight David Eisenhower was leading the world in crushing that oppression and letting our freedoms live another day. My guess is that Dwight Eisenhower’s father’s lessons on giving were put to good use. With that knowledge I’m sure General Eisenhower returned the favor for all of us.