A Difference

I am in the process of preparing for my Small Group lesson for tomorrow morning. It is on self-control - the last of the fruit of the Spirit. I wrote the book, but I still fill out the Scripture verses and underline and mark my book just as I would any other book I was using. It's been a while since I wrote it, and God speaks to me through it just as if I hadn't written it myself.

God spoke to me today.

This is what I had written:

"If you learn only one thing, I pray it is this: Being a Christian is a life of action. It means putting ourselves out where we will be vulnerable to attack, but we choose to do so and lean on God for the power to continue.

It means taking our love of God seriously and following His commands to take care of those around us.

For many of us, this means a total life change. It means hard work re-training the way we view our lives and how we interact with our world."

I underlined in my book what I bold and italicized above. That is an important point. How often do we allow ourselves to be put in a situation where we are vulnerable in order to serve God? I had to think, then the Holy Spirit spoke to me and I just had to share.

When we first arrived in Kirksville just 6 or 7 months ago, our son, Jacob, became fast friends with a boy named Killian. Making new friends in a new school is tough, and Jacob already has a tough time in this area, so we fostered this new relationship. We had Killian over to spend the night one Friday night. Wow! What a night! This kid never stopped! He talked and moved all over the house - even was playing the drums after he was supposed to be asleep late late late in the night. He wasn't trying to be disobedient! He really and truly couldn't help himself.

A couple of weeks later, we invited Killian over on a Saturday night so that we could bring him to church. In the process, we got his sister also. Another full house and a busy one, but the kids loved the church family and have returned regularly throughout the winter!

As we got to know this family, we learned that Mom is a single mother who was struggling to even be on her feet, let alone get back up on them. We found ourselves watching kids up to bedtimes on weeknights or even keeping them overnight a few times. Of course, all the while, wondering just how 'legitimate' each situation really was. These times haven't come up lately, and I've always felt that even though the time was rough, it was the right thing to do. We continued to have groups of kids over to the house and usually try to plan it for Saturday nights with the ulterior motive of getting them to church. It makes for very busy nights, but productive ones!

All this story comes to a head today - the mom, Salina, talked with me today about how well things have started going - just recently and in a way that is just blowing her away. She no longer has to pay her ex-husband child support for kids she is taking care of. The state will be going after him for a situation that will make her the legal guardian again. With this, she has been able to work and keep all of the money she earns, making it possible for her to move her kids to a house with a yard in a neighborhood and out of the unsafe trailer in an industrial part of town with lots of drugs and guns around.

As she was telling me all about how well things are going now and how overwhelmed whe is about it all, she makes the point that she in intent on keeping in touch with me and with Carolyn, who were the only people in Kirksville who ever did anything nice for her and helped her. She recognized and names several times when she needed a pick-me-up and found it in the First Church of God family. No, she has never attended a worship service on Sunday morning, but she saw Jesus. She saw Him through us.

How many of us are going the extra mile for those within our reach? It's not an easy task. I didn't always have the time or the energy to listen to long stories on the phone. I wasn't always in the mood to enjoy staying up late to oversee groups of children in our home on a Saturday night. There have been clothing drives and food gifts. How often do we blow off opportunities to help? How often do we drive past the dumped cargo that we could help pick up and reload? How often do we walk past someone who will work for food?

Does is really matter whether or not they are legitimate? I think that can be a rationalization to play it safe - to keep from putting ourselves in a vulnerable position. I believe God wants us to be smart, but to also be vulnerable - to put ourselves out there where we can do the best for others, even if it hurts sometimes. Remember - NO PAIN NO GAIN