This past weekend, I saw the most beautiful woman. And my children saw her. And my husband saw her. And my friends saw her. She was not a super-model. She was not on a TV show. She was not a celebrity of any sorts. You see, the world may not look at her and think that she is beautiful. In fact, the world may just look right past her. But, I pray that my family, especially my children, will not ignore the lesson that she taught us.
My grandmother always said, "Beauty is as beauty does." The older I get, the more truth I find in that statement. Beauty does not act selfishly. Beauty puts others ahead of herself. Beauty does not constantly look for the bad in others. Beauty finds good. Beauty does not walk past the hurting. Beauty sacrifices her time and energy to care.
So, what exactly did we see this past weekend? We saw a man who had a stroke almost a year ago. We saw a man who used to be the life of the party who no longer can stand without assistance. We saw a man who used to sing praises to His King every Sunday in choir who can no longer utter the words that he wants to say. We saw a man who used to wrap his arms around his wife, who can no longer use his right arm at all. And we saw a man who had a beautiful woman beside him.
His wife greeted us at the door. She graciously invited us in. She hugged each of us, and marveled at how our children had grown. We entered with butterflies in our stomachs, because we knew that he would not be the same. He sat on the couch, and the tears flowed freely. His tears of mourning the life that he knew. His tears of frustration of not being able to verbally express himself. And our tears started. Tears of joy of seeing dear friends again. Tears of anger, questioning why in the world this happened.
And then the music started. Victory in Jesus....Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)....10,000 Reasons....God of the Mountain....Glory in the Highest. We sang when we could....between the tears. And he sang with us. He didn't form the words, but he was certainly praising His Lord, and humming the tunes.
And as his tears flowed, the beauty became apparent. She got out of her seat. She went to another room, and returned with tissues. And she sat on the arm of the sofa and wiped his tears. She put her arm around him, and she comforted him. She loved him the best that she could by caring for him, and just being there for him. She wrote down songs that we sang that would encourage her, and her husband, when they were having a bad day.
You see, though he was the victim of a horrible stroke, she was every bit as much the victim. When his life changed, her's did, too. She no longer has the freedom to go to the grocery store when she realizes she needs milk. She no longer can get in the shower without making sure that he is settled and comfortable. She no longer can be surrounded on Sunday mornings by the church family that loves her so much. And she no longer can have normal conversations with her lifemate.
But she is beautiful. And I pray that my children, especially my daughters, saw it. I pray that they saw the honor and love that comes from a wife who is fully-devoted to her Lord and to her husband. I pray that they saw that bad times don't mean you can just walk out, or give up. I pray that they saw that love is about more than emotions, or happiness. I pray that they will remember as they grow up and think about getting married that they must make a committment "for better or worse." That "worse" may not be something as bad as a stroke. It may just be an argument. Or a month full of arguments. That "worse" may be that you don't feel like you can love him anymore. But yet the beautiful bride....the beautiful woman that God has created...she stays. And she serves. And she loves.
Beauty is as beauty does. May we choose to be beautiful by choosing to "do" beautiful.
"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life." (Proverbs 31:10-12)
Monday, October 29, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Who, Me?
So, it happened again. I'm reading a Bible story that I've read probably 39 times. And I'm really just kind of reading it because I'm trying to get my daily "assignment" done for my "Read Through the Bible in a Year" plan. You know the drill. In my mind, I'm just counting the number of verses to go before I can turn my light off and fall asleep. And then, BOOM! Something jumps out at me. And I see some words in a whole new light. And I sit, amazed. God's Word is living. And active. And sharper than any two-edged sword.
One of the primary areas in my life that has been lacking over the past several years is my witnessing attempts. You see, as a minister's wife, it's really easy to get "comfortable". It's really easy to look around and say, "Well, I'm really involved in the church. My husband is crazy-busy. I need to support him. That's my ministry." And while yes, that's true, I've recently been convicted that that's not enough. In all honesty, I think I was really using that as an excuse.
When it comes to witnessing, I've typically taken the "lifestyle evangelism" road. You know, the line we all pull out when we don't want to have any confrontations. Don't get me wrong. I believe that our first line of evangelism HAS to be lifestyle evangelism. We have to be living what we're saying. We have to be above reproach so that world doesn't sneer in our faces. But it can't stop there. We have to TALK. And we have to share. And we have to open ourselves up to the idea that someone might laugh at us. Someone might get mad. And someone might even get saved. Someone might hear words that they have been longing to hear for 57 years: Someone loves them. Someone cares for them. Someone wants to have a relationship with them.
So, back to the Bible story. It's in Exodus, and God is basically commissioning Moses to go rescue His people from the land of Egypt. God tells Moses what he is supposed to say and do. But Moses was stuck. He couldn't figure out why God wanted to use him. He wasn't an eloquent speaker. In his own words, he was "slow of speech and slow of tongue." But the problem was, he wasn't just being humble. He was actually questioning the words of the Lord. God called him, and Moses said, "Who, me?"
How many times do we do that? God puts someone in our path, and we feel a gentle nudging. "Talk to her, Amy. Ask her if she knows Me. Ask her if there's anything you can pray about for her." And we say, "No." We say, "I don't know what to say. What if I mess up? What if they get mad? What if they make fun of me?" And so we let the moment pass. But the problem is, it's more than just letting the moment pass. We've actually been disobedient. I shudder to think of how many times I have been disobedient.
Here is the cool thing, though. Moses said, "Who, me?" And God said, "Yes, YOU!" God didn't put up with his excuses, or his silly thoughts that he couldn't do what God asked him to do. Instead, He told him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who has made him mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now then, go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to say." (Exodus 4:11-12) And the other night, when I read that, God slapped me upside the head, and said, "Silly woman. If I call you to do something, I will equip you, and I will be with you!" Now, isn't that just the berries?!? Isn't that amazing? God calls us to be His witnesses. He calls us to share HIM with the world. And all of the worries, and anxieties, and excuses that we can come up with don't stand. They're irrevelant, because the very God who made our mouths goes with us.
I don't have to feel like I'm the most eloquent speaker in the world. I don't have to have all of my words in just the right place. God called me to be His witness when He saved me. And when He saved you, He called you to be His witness. We just need to trust in the One who calls us. And know that He, even He, will be with our mouths and will teach us what we are to say. And that's stinkin' awesome.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
One of the primary areas in my life that has been lacking over the past several years is my witnessing attempts. You see, as a minister's wife, it's really easy to get "comfortable". It's really easy to look around and say, "Well, I'm really involved in the church. My husband is crazy-busy. I need to support him. That's my ministry." And while yes, that's true, I've recently been convicted that that's not enough. In all honesty, I think I was really using that as an excuse.
When it comes to witnessing, I've typically taken the "lifestyle evangelism" road. You know, the line we all pull out when we don't want to have any confrontations. Don't get me wrong. I believe that our first line of evangelism HAS to be lifestyle evangelism. We have to be living what we're saying. We have to be above reproach so that world doesn't sneer in our faces. But it can't stop there. We have to TALK. And we have to share. And we have to open ourselves up to the idea that someone might laugh at us. Someone might get mad. And someone might even get saved. Someone might hear words that they have been longing to hear for 57 years: Someone loves them. Someone cares for them. Someone wants to have a relationship with them.
So, back to the Bible story. It's in Exodus, and God is basically commissioning Moses to go rescue His people from the land of Egypt. God tells Moses what he is supposed to say and do. But Moses was stuck. He couldn't figure out why God wanted to use him. He wasn't an eloquent speaker. In his own words, he was "slow of speech and slow of tongue." But the problem was, he wasn't just being humble. He was actually questioning the words of the Lord. God called him, and Moses said, "Who, me?"
How many times do we do that? God puts someone in our path, and we feel a gentle nudging. "Talk to her, Amy. Ask her if she knows Me. Ask her if there's anything you can pray about for her." And we say, "No." We say, "I don't know what to say. What if I mess up? What if they get mad? What if they make fun of me?" And so we let the moment pass. But the problem is, it's more than just letting the moment pass. We've actually been disobedient. I shudder to think of how many times I have been disobedient.
Here is the cool thing, though. Moses said, "Who, me?" And God said, "Yes, YOU!" God didn't put up with his excuses, or his silly thoughts that he couldn't do what God asked him to do. Instead, He told him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who has made him mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now then, go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to say." (Exodus 4:11-12) And the other night, when I read that, God slapped me upside the head, and said, "Silly woman. If I call you to do something, I will equip you, and I will be with you!" Now, isn't that just the berries?!? Isn't that amazing? God calls us to be His witnesses. He calls us to share HIM with the world. And all of the worries, and anxieties, and excuses that we can come up with don't stand. They're irrevelant, because the very God who made our mouths goes with us.
I don't have to feel like I'm the most eloquent speaker in the world. I don't have to have all of my words in just the right place. God called me to be His witness when He saved me. And when He saved you, He called you to be His witness. We just need to trust in the One who calls us. And know that He, even He, will be with our mouths and will teach us what we are to say. And that's stinkin' awesome.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
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