George was 12 years old and rather shy, and he was a bit scared of Mr Franks so it took him a couple of weeks before he could get up the courage to go and speak to him.
Mr Franks saw George standing in his shed doorway; “What do you want boy” he said peering over the top of his glasses.. “I wondered whether you might lend me your Brace and Bit” asked George. “What do you want it for”? . “I want to put up a shelf I’ve got in my shed” George replied.
“What do you want a shelf for?” . “I want to get a large box and some wire netting to stand on the shelf”. Mr Franks looked puzzled . “What’s all this for?” “Well I’m saving up my pocket money to buy a couple of rabbits, but I’ve got to make a home for them first”.
Mr Franks smiled at him, “Come over here lad” .He led the way to the back of the shed . “You can have one of these three boxes , that one should be big enough: and over here under this bench you’ll find a roll of wire netting; my wire cutters are in my tool rack over there, if you like I’ll help you cut a bit the right size.”.
The look on George’s face gave Mr Franks a deep sense of pleasure. “It’s George isn’t it ?” “Yes Mr Franks”. “Well come over here a minute George, there’s some other things you will need”. Soon George had a small bag in which Mr Franks had put in a small heap of staples, a pair of hinges, and some screws, all of which had been given as the result of their discussion on how George was going to make his Rabbit Hutch..
It took George two trips to collect the borrowed Brace and Bit and other items, and on the second trip Mr Franks called him. “George, I have just phoned my son, he lives quite near here, and when you have finished the rabbit hutch, you can go and see him any Saturday morning and he will give you a couple of good rabbits, There is his address and phone number.”.
All this took place years ago, Now George is a grown man with a wife and family of his own. (His two sons have just started keeping rabbits too). which brought on the retelling of the above story, but George has often said that Mr Franks was first to gave him his idea of what God’s love like. Think of it !
Greetings … Gerald Gossage.