It was around two months ago that my son turned 3 years old. It was also the time where we heard the news that some long distance friends of ours lost their baby girl in a tragic car accident. We spent the day at toys r us letting our son pick out his birthday gift, while I can only imagine they spent the day picking out things for their babies funeral. This past week my husband and I celebrated our twelfth wedding anniversary while a precious mother of four at our church heard that her cancer is much worse. We spent the day reflecting on the past twelve years and dreaming of our future together. They spent the day gazing in each others eyes wondering what next step they should take.
As the last few weeks of summer approach my family is faced with which lunchbox to order for my kids, where has the summer gone, and will this house remodel ever be finished? While others are faced with very tough, just plain awful decisions it is almost embarrassing to think of the things that weigh on my mind in comparison of what others are having to ponder.
Life. While one is celebrating another is grieving. If you have lived long enough you know that sometime in your life you will experience both. Maybe your experience won't be the exact same but you will both experience life's greatness and also life's darkness. If you talk to someone that has been through the valley and ask them what got them through they will tell you the grace and mercy of God, no doubt. They will also tell you the body of Christ, the men and women that showed up and served them the only way they knew how. The sweet homemaker that showed up with homemade bread and poppy seed chicken because she didn't know what else to do. The handyman that showed up to fix the leaky drain because he thought it would save them from having to call someone. The lady that always sends cards, the one that wrote the very words and verse you needed to hear. The praying man who knew just the words to pray when honestly you just couldn't find the words to pray. The anonymous givers who sent money because they knew it could somehow help. These are the people that make up the body of Christ.
What is your talent? What is your gift? I challenge you to know it and to use it. Your talent or gift may seem small to you but when added in with others and when you are using it to glorify God it will make huge impacts on peoples lives and no doubt help to get them through the darkest most difficult days of their life. We are the body of Christ.
We all go through "seasons of life" at different times. And I think if used correctly, the staggering of events and life challenges leaves us in different states of mind, different levels of faith. In any relationship, spouse or friendship, I believe that we find ourselves in different states at different moments and the one who is stronger at the moment can allow God to work through them to build back up the weaker brother or sister. Sometimes the life events we go through, may not be for us to grow, but for God to use us to answer someone else's prayer or need. When I become aware of how our all-knowing God whose presence is everywhere, has used someone to do his will, I am so in awe of the one we call Father. The ripple effect that we sometimes see as a "happy coincidence" isn't that at all. It is God doing what He does to show his children that He loves us and will never forsake us.
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