Still Under Construction

She was an older woman, though I would have a hard time saying just how old. She was pushing a mostly empty wheelchair that afternoon a few days ago, near the entrance of the parking lot at the shopping center where I work. I saw her there, but initially I didn’t really take notice of her more than to make a brief mental note to avoid hitting her as I drove into the lot on my way to my store. I was very focused on other things. I had things to get done and the day was already wasting away.

It was my day off and I had only come to work to pick up some empty boxes for my daughter who was packing up her household for their upcoming move to another city here in Florida. I had a plan and I was trying to work my plan. I wasn’t prepared for interruptions. So, honestly, I was a bit annoyed by this one.

But how are you going to ignore an older woman who is hunched over, pushing a wheelchair across a parking lot, when she is looking distressed and is trying to flag you down as you are trying to pass to the right side of her without running her over? So I pulled up a little, so as not to block the entrance, stopped and rolled down my passenger side window to find out why she seemed so desperate to get my attention.

She came up to the window and briefly explained her predicament. She was homeless, the shelters were all full, they wouldn’t be feeding until that night, and she was feeling sick from not having eaten. Could I please help her out?

Now, I had long ago decided never again to give money to people in her type of situation, but I did feel prompted to help her get something to eat. Since she was headed in the direction of the Wendy’s restaurant on the corner, I asked her if something from there would be okay. She said that would be fine, so parked my car in a nearby spot and got out. I walked the short distance with her to the restaurant, mostly without speaking other than to ask her if she needed help getting her wheelchair over the curb.

I held the door for her as she entered and held my breath as the rush of cool air from the restaurant left me downwind from her un-bathed body. I followed her to the counter and told her just to order whatever she wanted. She placed her order to go, and I presented my debit card to the cashier and she completed the transaction.

I said, “Okay?”

The lady simply and quietly said, “Thank you,” like she was responding to someone who had stepped out of her way or had held a door for her.

My obligation was complete, so I just walked away and left her to collect her order. I’m embarrassed to admit that I can’t even say for sure that I said, “You’re welcome.”

As I walked away, I was a little bothered by what I perceived as her lack of gratitude. Hadn’t I just interrupted my own plan and gone with her to Wendy’s and let her order the largest combo meal on the menu and paid the bill?

And yet at the same time, I didn't want her to make a big deal over what I had done and bring attention to it. All I really wanted was what I had done to be between her, me and God--and for her to be grateful to God.

I went back to my mission of loading up the boxes and within a couple of minutes I saw her again in the parking lot. The food that I had just purchased for her was no where to be seen, though it may have been tucked away with her few belongings. But what really irritated me was that she had stopped someone else who was getting into their car and was apparently begging off of them, too.

The whole situation started to really get under my skin and so I tried telling myself, “Just let it go. Forget it. What’s done is done. Don’t let it consume your day. You’ve got other things to get done and you sure don’t have time to let this get to you.”

It didn’t help.

Am I the only one that is a little slow to pick up on the fact that sometimes God is trying to show you something?

So I spent a lot of the day considering what had happened and how it made me feel. And slowly, I started to see some pretty powerful messages that I think God especially meant for me.

You see, nearly every morning I take my wife’s hands and we pray together over the day ahead, and over our family and loved ones. I ask God to put people in our path that we can be a blessing to, so that they are touched by the goodness of God and drawn to Him. When I pray it, I mean it with my whole heart. But I have to tell you, I don’t always hold onto that prayer as I get busy in my day.

Still, even though I wasn’t looking for an opportunity at that moment in the parking lot, it didn’t take long for me to know that God wanted me to help that woman. I sensed it deep on the inside and I acted on it. I was obedient.

Do you realize that there is a big difference in being obedient and being willing?

I did it because I knew I was supposed to do it. God let me know that He wanted me to do it. It wasn’t going to take much effort or time or sacrifice. So I just did it and got it over with. I certainly wasn’t excited about doing it. I wasn’t shouting,

“Hallelujah! God answered my prayer!”

But you see, I would have been, if I had been willing instead of just obedient. Oh yes, I did it, but how much more of a blessing would I have been to her and just how much more blessed would I have been if I had only done it with a willing heart.

What if I had taken the time to just show a little more kindness, instead of looking at her with mistrust? What if I had made the effort to talk with her, to get to know her, to encourage her, and maybe even find out if she had some other needs? What if maybe I had even said,

“How else can I help you?”

Or what if I had said to her,

“I just want you to know that God Himself spoke to my heart and told me to help you. He sees you, He knows where you are, and He loves you”?

What if?

How much more blessed would I have been in blessing her? And how much more grateful to God might she have been?

And then there’s the other lesson (one that I’m supposed to already know).

I am only responsible to act on what I feel God is telling me to do, to the best of my ability (with a willing heart). I'm not to worry about the results. I’m supposed to leave the results up to Him. If He tells me to do something, He undoubtedly has a good reason for it. I just need to do it and trust Him to make of it what He will.

It could very well be that what happened that afternoon was intended more for me than for her. Maybe it was to see if I would be obedient, and then to show me how obedience is not enough. I must be willing, so that the next time I’m prompted, I will be a much greater blessing and in that blessing, be far more blessed.


"If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land."

--Isaiah 1:19 (NKJ)

Representing Well

Today is Mother's Day! And as I was reflecting on my own mother, and how grateful I am to be so blessed to have such a wonderful mom, I was struck by how far-reaching are the implications of taking on such a responsibility.

Simply by having a child you change the lives of thousands of people. And as time goes on, potentially thousands upon thousands of lives will never be the same--for the better or for the worse--depending on the path that your child's life takes.

I wonder if my mom thought about how many lives she was going to change by having the four children that she had. Did she have any idea of the multitude of lives that would be forever touched by her decision to become a mom? And did she realize how her decision will continue to change lives long after she is gone? That the effect will likely never stop, as our children touch lives and have children of their own who will also touch lives?

So just as an encouragement to all the moms and potential moms out there: Raise your children well, making an abundance of love the key thing.

And as a reminder to those of us who are children: Represent well the one who sacrificed the most to bring you into the world.

If we all do this, the whole world will be changed.

Things Hoped For, Now Revealed

Some of you have asked about whether the duck eggs that were pictured in my March 9th post had hatched. (And some of you had no clue that there was a picture of duck eggs posted in the first place!) Regardless, I wanted to let you know that, indeed, they did hatch.

I'm afraid that I haven't done a great job of capturing the picture here, but I did want to send you the evidence showing that those things which I had hoped for, did come to pass!

God is good. And in the midst of uncertainty and adversity, life goes on to declare His glory!

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard."

Psalm 19:1-3 (NKJ)

A New Song

Have you ever gotten a song "stuck" in your head? If you are like most of us, it happens from time to time. Ever notice how often it is a song that you don't particularly like and especially find irritating after it has played itself over and over in your head for most of the day?

My mother-in-law and her sister actually "try" to get a song stuck in each others' minds, as a playful irritation, by subtly humming a tune in front of one another, until it is good and lodged in for the day.

It used to happen to me much more often than it does now. I think that is because I have learned how to replace the song in my head with a new song from my heart.

After all, for most of us, our minds and are hearts are not always in sync. If we let it happen our mind can get us into all kinds of worry and anxiety. On the other hand, if we would let it, our heart would lead us into peace. We have to hold the thoughts of our mind captive to that which we hold in our heart.

That's why the Bible says, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." --Proverbs 3:5 (KJV). You just can't always trust your mind, but if your heart is a heart after God, you can always trust it.

So what kind of song are you going to carry into this day? You could let the cares of this world fill you with a song of doom and gloom, or you could let a song rise up from within you heart full of hope, joy, and peace.

It's an easy choice for me. How about you?

Of Things Fragile and Delicately Balanced, Of Things Not Promised Beyond This Moment

My sister is truly an amazing person. She has an inner beauty that resonates on so many different levels. She is loving, caring, compassionate and brings much joy and laughter into the many lives that she touches.

Being the only girl in our family, with three brothers, she is quick to let you know that she is the princess. But don't think for a moment that this means she is prissy, by any means. She has a zest--a particularly keen enjoyment--for life, that comes, I think, from an appreciation for all the blessings of God that surround her each and every day.

She lives with her husband in the ski country of the mountains of Colorado, and takes full advantage of the opportunities that she has to participate in outdoor activities like camping, hiking, biking, kayaking, snow-shoeing, and, of course, skiing. Well, that is, she has until recently.

Just over a week ago, toward the end of a day full of skiing the slopes with friends, she fell and broke both bones of her lower right leg. Very suddenly everything in her life changed. After surgery to repair the damage, her very active lifestyle was replaced with a very restricted one which included no weight bearing on the injured leg for eight weeks and continued therapy after that. Quite a change for someone who is always on the go!

It could have been much worse. She will recover. She will walk, hike, bike, kayak, snow-shoe, and yes, probably ski again.

But it has made me think about how fragile and delicately balanced our lives are, and how suddenly everything that we know can change. And it has also reminded me that we are not promised more than this very moment. And so we should live each moment to it's fullest, grateful to God for His blessings to us.

Where I live is much different than where she lives . . . or probably from where you live. But God's hand is evident in all things that surround us if we will take the time to see.

Where I live, each morning I have the opportunity to walk and appreciate the beauty of what He has placed before me in this moment.

When I live in this moment, I find that I can have hope for those things to come.

" The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard." Psalm 19: 1-3 (NKJ)

Why Can't People Just Treat Me Right?

Have you ever thought, "I sure wish that person hadn't treated me that way!"? If you work with the public you probably feel like that a lot of times! I know that I do.

So, I was thinking about how I would like to be treated by others, and decided that I would write down a few of those thoughts and share them with you (in no particular order).

• I would like people to be kind and friendly, and invest a little of their time to show some interest in me.

• I would like people to be patient with me. I would like them to take the time to try to see my heart, because sometimes I say things that don't come out just right, or I do things before really thinking them through and I make a mess of it all.

• I would like them to recognize the good in me and assume that the areas that aren't so good are areas God already knows about . . . and that He is working on them with me.

• I would like for them to be helpful and supportive of me. I would like them to believe in my potential and encourage me to excel. I would like them to be gentle when correcting me and genuine in their compliments to me.

• I would like them to listen to me when I am trying to tell them something that is important to me.

• Mostly I just want to be sincerely loved and appreciated on a regular basis.

Now, no doubt if you were to make your own list, many of the things that I put on my list would show up on your list as well. But there would just as likely be things on your list that I might not have considered, so I would encourage you to make your own list.

Now, after you've made your list you could have copies made and give them out to everyone that you know or meet, and hope they start doing you right!

But that's not really how it works, is it? No, the list is for you. It's to remind you of what God expects from you when it comes to how you treat others.

You all know the golden rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." But how often do we really think about how big that assignment really is. To ask yourself in every moment of your dealings with someone else, "How would I want to be treated if our positions were reversed?"

What a different world we would live in if everyone followed the "rule!" But, while we can't make others follow it, we can impact our world by obeying God's command for ourselves.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." --Matthew 7:12 (NKJ)

Oh, and one other important thing to remember: the commandment is about doing . . . not about not doing, so it requires action on your part. You can't just "not do" and fulfill this commandment!

Words Once Spoken, Held Forever in the Heart

I saw an old friend, Mike Peterson, in church today. I probably haven't spoken more than a few words to him over the past year or so, but he greeted me with a warm embrace--evidence of the bond that remains strong between us, though our paths have moved us in different directions.

I was reminded of what an impact he had on me when I first came to the church. And then I was struck by how I still carry something in my heart that he said probably 17 years ago.

I had involved myself in the church by serving as an usher. Mike was the Head Usher at the church. He was a great believer in the power of prayer and before each service he would have all of the ushers join hands, he would say just a few words from his heart, and then we would pray for the service.

It was during one of those times that he shared four simple words with us, which he repeated several times:

"Refuse to be offended! Refuse to be offended! Refuse . . . to be offended!"

What else, if anything, that he said that day, I could not tell you. But those few words, spoken I believe under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, went deep into my heart and have forever changed me.

"Refuse to be offended!"

And since that day have I always refused offense? No, I am ashamed to say that I have not. But why is it so very important for me to try to do just that?

I believe that it is for this reason: Offenses come at us every day in many different ways and from many different sources, from little petty offenses to major affronts. Nearly every time that someone speaks to us we have an opportunity to take offense with something they say. And that is just what the devil would like for us to do.

Offense is a trap because out of offense comes bitterness which steals our peace and our joy. And without joy, our strength is drained and we are trapped! And now, filled with bitterness and resentment, the road back to freedom is so much harder to reach, when we could have avoided the whole detour in the first place if we had only refused the offense.

So, here's how you refuse offense: You simply make the right choice. It's your decision. You can choose to be offended, or you can choose to love, the way God loves you everyday.

Even though we all do things to offend God every single day, His choice is to love us. Why should our choice be any different with those around us.

In I Corinthians 13:5b the Amplified Bible tells us a little about the God-kind of love that is needed to melt away offense:

"Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]."

My challenge to you and to myself is to not be "touchy" and to not "pay attention to a suffered wrong." In loving others, like God loves you, you will find great freedom.