"I Just Love Jesus and He Wants Me to Help You"

I love Proverbs 31 devotions! I receive them on my smartphone and sometimes I don't have the time to read them. So I save them for when I have some waiting time - like at a doctor's appointment. Yesterday I read this one and ended up re-reading it at our evening dinner devotion time. I love the reason that she gave for helping and had to share it here! (thank you to my faithful readers - sorry I haven't updated - somehow life always takes over and blogging gets put at the bottom of the to-do list!) D

Lumping and Loving
Karen Ehman
“Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.” Philippians 4:5 (NLT)

I usually cringe at generalizations … stereotypes. Lumping an entire group of people into a confining box. Like “The ________ (nationality) are so ________ (bad character trait)” or “Those ________ (age group) all are so ________ (strange habit or behavior).” However, every once in a while a compliment is paid in the lumping.

Recently, as I waited in line at a coffee house, a frail, elderly woman stood in front of me ordering a meal. She seemed distressed as she fumbled for her change, paid the worker, and then gathered up her bag of food and her drink. As she headed for the door, her large purse began swinging off of her shoulder, nearly knocking her, and all of her lunch, to the floor. “Oh … how am I going to do this? Oh my … oh dear … I can’t …” she mumbled to herself, trying to shift her weight and her cargo while pushing open the door at the same time.

Though I’d just finally reached the front of the line, God used today’s key verse to tap me on the heart and shift my momentary schedule. I quickly hopped out of line. “Here, let me get that for you,” I uttered as I held the door open and steadied her drink. “Would you like me to carry your food to your car?” She stopped in her tracks, her bright blue eyes looking up at me with gratefulness. “Oh dear … you must have a grandmother living that you’re so kind to an old woman.”
“No ma’am, I don’t,” I answered. “I just love Jesus and He wants me to help you.”
Read the rest here: http://devotions.proverbs31.org/?s=lumping+and+loving

Power Verse:
Proverbs 31:26, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.” (NKJV)

Grass

As you know, I have been a "paper-girl/woman" for quite a few years. What started out as some outdoor walking (and getting paid for it) has turned out to meeting neighbours that I normally wouldn't meet and growing relationships. It's been good, but also difficult, because those who I usually meet are people who have no one else or those who have family but come from very broken relationships. One such lady is Joanne.

I met Joanne quite a few years ago - I'd say at least 8 years. She was an elderly woman at the time (in her 80s) but she was so active. She'd be outside cutting the grass (seriously!) and even trimming her hedges. While her face looked like she was in her 80s, her body and movement did not. She kept active and loved being outdoors. We'd often chat.

Sometimes we'd chat about God. She was very angry at God. She had no use for God. But I'd still tell her that I was praying for her (and I was) and I showed her the hands of God through my life. She never shied away from me when I mentioned God - but a wall definitely came up.

I learned that her husband passed away almost exactly when my dad did, in 1990. He died of cancer. Joanne and her husband had one child - a son - and that son passed away a few years later. He lived in Europe and his wife (her daughter-in-law) and children stayed in Europe. They had contact over the years and sometimes they'd come to visit Joanne. But Joanne tired of taking them to the tourist attractions (or so she said) so they stopped coming. She said she encouraged them to spend their money on the places that they'd like to visit, rather than visiting her. I wonder if she really meant that.

While Joanne was a nice woman, she was also bitter in many ways and knew exactly how things were. Or how she thought they were. A lot of the people that I meet are like this.

Anyway, a few years ago Joanne told me that her daughter-in-law had cancer. It wasn't long before she told me that her daughter-in-law died. She was quite sad. The only family left were her grandchildren.

A little more than a year ago, Joanne took me aside to tell me that she had been diagnosed with cancer. It was a rare form of a "woman's cancer" and she had a hysterectomy (at almost age 89). I still remember her fear, asking me if I could Google her cancer and find her some information. She'd been given various websites to check out but did not have access to the internet. I sat with her and went through her sheets from the doctor, trying to calm her down. It must be tough to live alone and have no one to support you at such times.

Joanne was healthy enough to go through the surgery so she did. Everything went well and although it took quite a bit out of her, Joanne kept at it. She had someone cut her grass for her (which drove her crazy) but she got back at the hedges. She didn't open her pool last season, because she knew she wouldn't be able to keep up with it. She missed her swims.

I rarely saw someone visiting Joanne. But I was happy to see that her closest neighbours were able to take her to her radiation appointments (she'd asked me but I wasn't able to) and a couple neighbours were taking turns cutting her grass. It was encouraging to see neighbours supporting one another in an old-fashioned (not seen a whole lot today) way.

A couple of months ago Joanne again took me aside. Her cancer had come back. She was angry. I tried to encourage her. But she told me that fear had taken over. Fear of cancer (she'd watched her husband and son die of it), fear of dying alone, fear of dying. I tried to console her. I tried to support her.

I saw her about 6 weeks ago and she looked good. I thought she must be doing well, despite her sadness.

And then a couple of weeks ago a "for sale" sign went up at Joanne's house. I could see that someone was still around because I saw her tire tracks in the snow (coming out of her garage) as well as her garbage/composting/recycling being put out and put away again. So I knew that she was still around. On December 17 Joanne had her 90th birthday. I didn't see her but I left her a card and note. I never heard from her again.

Last week I saw that the house was "sold" -- and a few trucks were in her driveway. A dumpster has now joined the trucks. I see Joanne's "life" in the dumpster. I went inside Joanne's house a couple of times and it was like a timewarp. The 1950s all the way. Panelling everywhere, chrome everywhere, various shades of yellow and orange everywhere. It even had a musty smell. Joanne said it wasn't worth it to update anything. It would be a waste of her money.

So I haven't seen Joanne, and since she doesn't have any family here, I don't know if she's okay. I haven't seen a death announcement but I don't know who would put one in for her anyway. (I hope to talk to one of her neighbours soon.) I'm hoping that she's in a senior's home now, getting some tender-loving-care. I miss seeing her - and seeing her house be demolished has been quite an analogy for me. Of how fleeting this life is. It is here and it is gone.

I hope most of all that Joanne has a loving person beside her, showing her of her need of a Saviour.

You sweep people away like dreams that disappear or like grass that springs up
in the morning. In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it
is
dry and withered. ...
Seventy years are given to us! Some may even
reach
eighty. But even the best of these years are filled with pain and
trouble; soon
they disappear, and we are gone.

Teach us to realize
the brevity of
life, so that we may grow in wisdom.
Psalm 90:5,6,10,12

Being Perfect

27 Sep 2010
Rachel Olsen

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence." 1 Peter 1:3 (ESV)

There's a moment I dread when going to the doctor for a check-up. It's not putting on that tissue paper rectangle they mistakenly call a "gown." It's not having my finger pricked for blood tests - though I'm really squeamish about that. It's the moment right after the nurse finishes her questions, grabs her clip board, and announces the doctor will be in to see me shortly. Pulling the door closed behind her, she leaves me alone with it.

I already know what it's going to say about me; I've read it before. It's going to say that I don't measure up. That I'm not reaching my potential. That I don't equal my ideal. It's the height/weight chart that declares the perfect weight for my height – and I'm several pounds away.

It extends no mercy. It offers no grace. It makes no allowances for how old I am, how many babies I've birthed, or the fact that my husband can eat three plates of food every night without gaining an ounce. It demands perfection.

A few years ago I heard a verse that seemed to be the scriptural equivalent of the height/weight chart. A single verse to measure my worth against, and feed my expectations for perfection: "But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48, NIV)

I figured this verse justified dressing my family in matching sweaters, in the middle of July, to take the Christmas card photo because I'd just gotten the perfect haircut. I figured it warranted pricey tooth whitening treatments because I drink coffee and tea, and it shows. And I figured it would be my defense when I drove my family nuts about deep-cleaning the entire house because my new friend said she might stop by.

While the verse came in handy when I needed to justify my quest for perfect teeth, perfect photos or a perfectly clean house, it added to my disappointment, guilt and occasional loathing when my life, body or family didn't match the ideal notions in my head. Rather than fostering perfection, it fueled my self-criticism. Surely this is not what Jesus intended!

In the years since hearing that verse, I've embraced a core conviction that goes like this: If God created life, He alone gets to define it . This conviction drove me to find out what exactly Jesus meant by "be perfect."

Matthew wrote this verse. And the word he used in the ancient Greek language means something a little different than Mr. Webster's English definition. The Greek word here is teleos and it means "complete, full grown, developing."

The first two pieces of that definition indicate something already accomplished, while the third indicates an ongoing process. So this perfection Jesus prescribes for us is already complete and yet still developing. Complete in Him; still at work in us. We're allowed to be a work-in-progress!
All parts of this definition, however, refer to maturity of character, rather than a flawless figure, immaculate home, or the faultless execution of a task. Jesus just doesn't care so much if there's dust on our mantle, a stain on our teeth, or a scratch on our car. He isn't interested in how well our bedspread matches our curtains; He's interested in our spiritual maturity. Jesus teaches I will not find my worth in my ability to reach my perfect weight or accomplish my to-do list flawlessly, but in the fact that I am learning to reflect His character. To graciously give and receive love.

That's good news for a recovering perfectionist. Plus, as John writes in 1 John 3:18-19 of The Message: "My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it."

Dear Lord, thank You for grace! Thank You for mercy! Thank You for empowering me to be like You as I submit to Your Word. And thank You for not caring about dust bunnies or stained shirts. Help me to care less about those things as well and focus my heart more on You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Application Steps:
Spend time reading through the gospels, noticing what concerned Jesus and what did not.

Reflections:
What surface-level thing(s) have you been worrying over lately?

If it's not about your character, let it go as imperfect and rest in God's grace today.

Power Verses:
Philippians 3:8-9, "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith," (NASB)

I Believe!

One of my favourite songs from one of my favourite artists! With spring all around us and a long winter finally over, how CAN we say there is no God?! Enjoy! ~ D

The Lord is My Shepherd

This is so sweet -- from the mouths of babes! How sweet to hear scripture from children's mouths -- recently I've heard so many young children taking God's name in vain. It really saddens me. But this is refreshing -- enjoy!