my heart is overflowing with gratitude...
in just a few short months...
I have seen miracles happen...
and not just for me...
I've come to understand what can happen...
when ordinary people...
ask God to use them...in His Will...
[some might call them, "nobodies"...
but they would be wrong...]
perhaps being stuck in an awful relationship...
or substance abuse... mental illness...
the devastating loss of a loved one...
the horrors of domestic violence...
being told, every day, that you are worthless...
or just cowering at the bottom of a deep hole...
all hope gone...waiting to die...
make us more appreciative of the awesome redeeming power of God...
we are ALL sinners...
it's in our DNA...
but being human... and following one of Newton's Laws of Motion...
we will stay "still"...until "put into motion"...
or in other words...we tend to be satisfied with where we are...
until we are "put out of our comfort zone"...
and are forced to move...
there are many content people who go to church...
they have a comfortable life...and are thankful...
the unhappy people go to God...
[many finding Him in a church...]
they know that they need His saving grace...
and when they experience it in their own lives...
they are so grateful...they want to share it...
I am humbled by the loving, spirit-filled walk
of the people I have in my life...
their willing, servant spirit amazes
and fills me with a profound sense
of my own "unworthiness"...
patience... forbearance... forgiveness...
courage... strength... and love...
I see this in the faces of my brothers and sisters...
people who have known grief and sorrow...
have been caught up in the thoroughs of sin...
were grievously mistreated... and lost hope...
but who were rescued by God...
healed by His power and love...
and now allow themselves to be used...
to help others ...
gentle souls... tested in the fires of callousness...
strengthened by the grace of God...
"willingly" putting themselves in those dark places...
where those deep in sin cower...awaiting help...
as I transition into whom He intends me to be...
I am so blessed to be surrounded by those...
who have a maturity in Christ that I can be inspired by...
"turning the other cheek"...
"not answering back to evil..."
that's not me ...yet...
I'm still at the point of standing-up to an attack...
verbal or otherwise...
there was a time when I never stood up for myself...
assuming that I WAS as worthless as I was being told I was...
so for me... defending myself was a step forward...
but Jesus said that the "meek" shall inherit the earth...
that we should "turn the other cheek to an attacker..."
to NOT answer back to evil or false accusations...
not my "natural reaction"...
sounds pretty wimpy ... on the surface...
being "meek", that is...
considering yourself to be, "of no reputation"...
a "nobody"... "humbling yourself..."
Jesus did it ...He showed us how...
what He silently endured ...
though completely undeserved...
took great strength and courage...
having recently seen this command of Christ...
followed... naturally...
apparently without conscious thought...
with grace and aplomb ...
by someone I greatly respect...
I'm even more aware ...
of my own need for "more work"...
this very human person WAS annoyed...
by the events that transpired...
venting afterwards...
but through it all...
has remained "meek".. humble, even....
silently enduring abuse...
with a continuing humble attitude...
even when venting...
that has touched my heart...
[authentic sincerity will do that...
every time...]
it's one thing to read ...
about how we should "be"...
it's quite something else to see it...
lived...right in front of us...
I am so privileged ...
and thankful...
to have such mentors...
and friends in my life...
as I continue to work to leave my "self" behind...
and become more the person Jesus wants me to be...
this is a very good place to be...
and these are truly special people...
that I'm allowed to share my journey with...
God... is so good !
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