I have a friend who is a young mom of four young kids. When you see her at church, she’s usually got a smile for you. When you see her at Safeway, there she is with that same smile. The smile that shines from way deep inside.
But this past summer, I saw this gal along the side of the road resting. She and her four kids were bicycling around town enjoying the sun – a rare thing that summer! Her husband is a fisherman and as such, is gone for long stretches of time. This was one of those times. She was tired. Tired physically, tired emotionally … just flat out tired.
We slowed to see if she needed help. She had her head turned talking to one of the kids. When she turned back around – there it was … that smile. She was tired and worn out, but her smile was still there. Her smile is so much a part of who she is, she just can’t leave home without it!
What a joy and blessing this wonderful Christian friend is. Who she is on the outside, yea, that’s who she is on the inside! Yup, she does say what she means, and sometimes it takes you back some! But she loves with an open heart. And this day and age, we need more like my friend.
We’ve been going over I John and now we’re on II John. What’s been hitting me is the theme of Truth. Truth verses Lies. Do you believe that you should tell the truth? Are you known for your truthfulness? Do you smile at church and bully everywhere else you go? Do people look at you and wonder what is so different about you? Why do you actually get along with your teenage daughter?
Do you LIVE the truth?
Dear Lord, change me. Let me love with an open heart. Who I am on the inside, Lord let me be that on the outside. Yes Lord, that may mean You’ve got a lot to change on the inside, but Lord, let me live the truth – Your truth.
In Jesus’ precious Name, amen.
This past weekend I went on the Women’s Retreat for our church. It was awesome …
As I sit in the Chapel, I look up thru the window and see a lone pine tree. This tree is old and scraggly, no leaves, only sticks where once beautiful branches hung.
Yet far beyond in the distance rises a mountain top … full of Pine Trees. At first glance the trees on the mountain top look all full and beautiful. But look closely and you’ll see stark branches as the early morning light shines off of some bare tree trunks.
Each of us bring something different to the mountain top. Each of us separately look out of place … lonely. Yet when we all meet at the mountain top and gather in close, that stark branch on one side of me is covered with a beautitful full branch of the tree standing next to me. All our “disabilities” melt away as we become one in Christ … one on the Mountain Top.