Author Archives: giveitupsister

Never Stop on a Hill

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Bike riding with nice background

 

“Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!” -Deuteronomy 1:21

Without fail, when my five year old starts up a hill on her bike, she stops . When she most needs the momentum to keep going, she puts on the brakes instead and comes to a full stop. This makes the climb up the other side much harder. No matter how many times I tell her to keep pedaling, she ignores me and gives into her fear.

The Israelites had the promised land in their sights. Following God’s command, Moses instructed the Israelites to enter the land of milk and honey. He told them not to be afraid or discouraged. But despite having been delivered out of Egypt through the Red Sea, they still would not place their complete trust in God and follow in obedience. They asked Moses to send scouts. So Moses did. When the scouts returned, they confirmed that the land was what God said it was. They also confirmed that there were giants living within fortified walls.

Joshua and Caleb, two of the twelve sent, trusted God to guide them and provide the continued protection they needed. The others felt that defeat was imminent and refused to move forward and take possession of the very land God had promised them.

As a result of their lack of trust and constant complaining, the Israelites were doomed to wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire unbelieving generation had died off, and a new generation was ready. Because of their faith, Joshua and Caleb were allowed in as well. In fact, it would be Joshua who would lead them.

I often throw my hands in the air in defeat and proclaim that I am not going another step. I look around at the endless to do list. I can’t get the thoughts to flow on paper. I can’t keep my house from looking like a tornado tore through it. I can’t stop getting angry when I am supposed to react in a kind and compassionate tone. Before long, that to do list becomes an I can’t list. I’m stuck on the hill.

When I was a junior in high school, I stopped on the hill. I marched into the office, placed my books on the counter, and walked out the front door. I quit. My grades were abysmal, and my attitude was worse. From the outside, none of it made sense. I came from a loving home, and I lived in the suburbs. I even had my own car and a golden retriever. Picture perfect.

On the inside I was not so picture perfect. I was plagued by failure and low self-respect. I watched everyone around me succeed and juggle everything so beautifully. I could never get it right. I was such a mess that I had the blessing of my parents to drop out of school. They just wanted me to begin again. I used to wonder how much heartache I would have spared myself if I had continued up the hill.

The Israelites had the momentum of God behind them. When they asked Moses to send scouts instead of trusting God to see them through, they stopped on the hill. Instead of  trusting Him to continue up the other side, they gave into their fear and opened the door for the enemy. When we trust in Jesus, we have the momentum too. The most beautiful part of trusting Jesus is the knowledge that there is no condemnation when we do. He encourages us to continue up the hill, but even if we stop, He is there to give us a push.

 

 

 

Searching for the Unlocked Door

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Four doors gray background

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. -Hebrews 10:23 (ESV)

I slid my phone across the table for my husband to see the screen. There was a job opening where I had worked prior to staying home with my daughter, and it was essentially the same position I had during that time.  I started looking for a job after writing the post  Living Like Leon. I was inspired by him, and I was still riding that wave. It was providential. I had to apply.

I made it through the first round of interviews, praying for God’s will the entire time. Then I got a call about setting up a second interview. From what I could tell, I was one of two final candidates. The door was swinging open wide, and I was all packed and ready to walk through it.

The day after my second interview, I looked out over the pond at a local park and fought back tears as I was told they decided to offer the position to the other candidate. He said I was just nudged out, and the decision was close. When you are on the receiving end of a call like this, it doesn’t matter how “close” it was. I could think only one thing. Why did the path seem so straight and clear if this was to be the outcome?

Many times in life, I have felt like I was standing at the end of a long hallway lined with closed doors. I would envision myself proceeding down the hall, reaching for each door, only to find them all locked.

We are told that when one door closes, God opens another. As true as I believe that to be, it is in the hallway that confusion sets in, filling us with doubt and causing us to question whether or not God has a purpose for us. We ask Him if He sees us, and if He cares at all. Don’t you see my empty bank account? Haven’t You promised to take care of your children? Will I ever find my way out of this desert?

As fear threatened to set in, I looked back at the last three years of my life. Then the last forty-two years of my life. Then all of recorded history. I saw a pattern of faithfulness and a perfect track record set by a perfect God. He is not in the business of giving us what we want so that we will be satisfied. Not when He knows there is much more that will fulfill us beyond what we could have possibly imagined. Even if it doesn’t look like we imagined.

He cannot fill us if we lack faith, and that is why I am writing this now. I do not know why it all seemed providential and perfect, only to fall to pieces at the eleventh hour. I do not know why I am at a complete loss about which path to pursue next. I do know that I must have faith and hope in a mighty God. I believe that it is not just hindsight that is 20/20. I believe that foresight can also be 20/20 in the sense that although the future has not yet been revealed,  we can trust  and have hope in the One who holds it.

It is this hope that can invigorate us and keep us pursuing His best for our lives. It is this hope that can allow us to feel secure in an insecure world. This isn’t like tossing a coin in a fountain and wishing for the best hope, this is I can do all things through God who strengthens me hope.

Life rarely looks like we want it to, or works out like we expect it to. The question is not whether or not disappointment will come, the question is where we will turn when it does.

This is why you must give it up sister.

If you would like to read more from Give it up Sister, please visit and “Like” the GIUS Facebook page.

 

Living Like Leon

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Leon

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. – Colossians 3:23-24

I was crying for a man I really didn’t know. Though I had spoken with him several times, I knew nothing about him. Yet, I still cried. I read comment after comment about him on Facebook. Everyone wanted to know about funeral arrangements. How could he be a virtual stranger to so many, yet clearly his death was a blow to the local community?

Leon looked you right in the eye when he was speaking to you. He would slip a peppermint into your hand and chat you up as if you were the only person on the planet that meant anything to him. He did this for many people on a daily basis, and it was clear he meant every word. Then he would close your trunk, thank you for shopping at Kroger enabling him to have a job, tell you to have a blessed day, and shuffle back to the store.

A true servant’s heart. A man after God’s own heart.

Not too long ago, it became apparent that I need to go back to work. For the last three years, my husband has done an incredible job supporting our family by finding additional work to supplement our income while I was at home with our daughter.

The day Brian came home and told me that he would no longer be teaching a specific class that was critical in making ends meet, my heart plummeted. I had a different plan for my life. I had envisioned myself in ministry full-time, and my passion was for writing, and hopefully
in time, jetting across the globe with the privilege of telling others about Christ. If you are going to dream, why limit yourself?

I could see the toll it was taking on my husband to burn the candle at both ends, and asking him to sacrifice indefinitely was becoming a real challenge for him. He never complained, but I could see the old spark was gone.

So, I told God and everyone in my life that I would go back to work if that was His plan for me. I always left a caveat in there though. I told God and my family that I would go back to work, but I didn’t want to entertain the idea of full-time work because I never felt led to.

The problem with this little theory was that I was telling God I was willing to do whatever He wanted me to do…with certain exceptions. That is not full surrender, and in fact, it is an insult to Him, and equivalent to not surrendering at all.

Once this epiphany took full effect, I knew what I had to do. First, I had to quit waiting for God to open the doors of opportunity for me and make a move myself. Second, I had to apply for jobs both part and full-time, and let Him decide where to place me. Third, and most important, I had to be completely content with His choice.

You see, what Leon understood and many of us don’t seem to (myself included), is that you can glorify the Father wherever you are in life. If we refuse to do anything other than what we have dreamed about, we are missing the point, and quite frankly, rendering ourselves ineffective. Leon’s job was not glamorous or one that would bring him worldwide notoriety, but it was important. What we can imagine as the most significant job in the world is totally useless if the purpose isn’t to glorify Jesus.

I do not know what God has in store for me, but I do know that whatever path He chooses to lead me down, I am going to give it all for Him. In fact, I am excited about the possibilities. Wherever God has placed you, whatever you are doing, never compare or despair. Keep looking up and asking Him for wisdom and guidance. He will make your paths straight, and His will is for your good and His glory.

Just like Leon.

 

 

 

Goodbye Kitty

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Julia Blog Pic

Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.

–Proverbs 22:6

I love Target. Next to Loft, Target is one of my favorite retail therapies. I could go back and forth between them for hours. Recently, I went with my mother and five-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and I was ready to give my full attention to all this store had to offer.

Up and down the aisles we traveled, looking at all the beautiful Targety things. We rounded one corner and right there on the end cap was a row of Hello Kitty beach towels placed there by the devil himself. Great. Now what. Too late to run.

The five-and-a-half-year-old voice pipes up and asks if she can have one. To which I say no. Then my mother offers to get it. My daughter is happy again. Until she sees the Hello Kitty blanket and travel pillow. The five-and-a-half-year-old voice pipes up again. I say no. Mom says no. And all the way to the front of the store, the five-and-a-half-year-old voice argues for the pillow and blanket. Here we go.

My child can be a feisty firecracker. A strong-willed daughter for a strong-willed momma. A tough combination at best, but at times like this, it can spell disaster. As we neared the registers, I told her more than once that if she kept arguing, the towel was going back. She didn’t listen, and when we got to the front, I gave the towel to the cashier and told my daughter she could forget about getting it now.

She yelled so loudly that every eye in the front of the store was locked on us. I could just imagine what they were thinking. I imagined some feeling sorry for me, others wanting me to hurry up and get out, and still others who were thinking, my child would never act that way. I can’t tell you how many times I said that before I had a child. Turns out, she has her own mind, her own mouth, and there are times when she does act that way.

Never say never. I said I would never live in Virginia again, I would never marry someone from the north (too cold), and my children would never embarrass me in public. Well, I have lived in Virginia for the past eighteen years, my husband is from Buffalo, and the Target tantrum isn’t even our grandest public display (the produce guy at Kroger knows what I’m talking about).

If you’re out and about and you see the offspring of a frazzled mom melting down, it does no good to glare at her. She knows and is desperate for it to end. Her child’s tantrum is not a sign that she’s a bad mom who lets junior do whatever she wants. Chances are, that mom does not actually “put up with it.” She just chooses not to make her own scene in the middle of the store. Someone has to keep a level of control after all.

Not too long ago, I realized that I don’t care anymore. I don’t care that refusing to buy her something when she acts out could send her into a public meltdown because I do care about what matters. One day she will be twenty-five-and-a-half instead of five-and-a-half, and she will be faced with choices that will define her character as an adult.

My daughter needs to understand that she must live a life of integrity and not indulgence, and it is up to me and her father to teach her. God gave her that strong will, but I guarantee it is not His will that she use it to serve only herself. If we do not show her, who will?

Every time we refuse to parent because it is uncomfortable or inconvenient, we send a message to our children. They see us taking the easy way out, the shortcut, the path of least resistance. They see us choosing to douse the flames through acquiescence, for fear of looking out of control. But sometimes we are out of control, and I would much rather have my daughter throw a tantrum at five while she is under my influence, then treat me and others with disrespect when she is on her own.

It doesn’t matter what others think in the moment while we make the hard choice to put the towel back, it matters only what God thinks, and the job He sees us doing as parents. My job is to mold my daughter’s strong will without breaking it, and that can only be achieved by persevering, prayer, and illustrating a balance of love and restraint.

I have made many huge mistakes as a mother, and I know I will do so again. I also know that I have access to the greatest counselor who lives, and He can guide us all as we navigate through the mountains and valleys of parenting. No matter how many tantrums she throws, I will not give up.

Parenting is a marathon, so you better strap on your comfy running shoes and be ready for every mile. The only way to do that is to seek the will of God and ask for His guidance every step of the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are You Broken?

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depressed tenage girl

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. –Psalm 34:18 (ESV)

Are You Broken?

Do you awaken in the morning
Wondering why you’re here?
Do you long for a Savior
One to whom you can draw near?

As you look into the mirror
Do you despise what you see?
Do you ask yourself each day
Does anyone see me?

Do you think your scars run too deep
And think you cannot heal?
No one can fathom the pain you’re in
There is no way He can be real

Do you look at other women,
And long to look like them?
Or do you flaunt yourself before others
Because inside you feel so dim?

Do you cry out for someone to hear you
I can’t do this anymore!
I am done, I am finished!
As you crumple to the floor?

There is someone who sees you
No matter where you are
He hears your every whisper
He is never far

He carried a cross and gave His life
To show you the depth of His love
His sacrifice was born of grace
A promise from above

He says, I see you child
I feel your every pain
I gave my life willingly
So that you’d have everything to gain

There is no work to be done
To receive the freedom that He gives
You need only trust and believe
That the mighty Savior lives

Trust Jesus as your Savior
And follow Him as Lord
The price to follow was paid by Him
That’s a price you can afford

Jesus waits to hear you cry out to Him
He won’t force you to make a choice
Just tell Him that you need His mercy
He is ready to hear your voice

The Pit of Repair

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Ladder standing inside hole

I’m pretty sure I didn’t know the word plagiarism when I was in the fourth grade, but when my teacher set a little book in front of me and told me to copy the poem in my neatest handwriting, an alarm sounded in my soul. And of course, I did it.

Then Mrs. Jones (not her real name) announced that I had won second place in a state writing competition and there would be a ceremony honoring the winners. What? I got all dressed up in my Sunday best and stood on that stage to accept my ribbon as my parents watched proudly from their little metal chairs. I locked eyes with my teacher. We both knew I was a fraud.

For thirty-two years I carried around that dirty little secret. Every time I saw that stupid poem, I was overcome with shame and I would slam the memory book closed in disgust. If you asked my mom about the poem, she would glow, probably thinking she had given birth to the next Maya Angelou.

Every time I had to write, I would refuse to read anything else on the subject for fear that I would write someone else’s words. I was in knots writing my twenty-seven page graduate school paper, making sure with every stroke of the key that the words were my own.

Just days ago, as I sat across the table from my mother, I confessed to her that I was not the poetic author she thought me to be. I told her how I carried this burden all these years, and then I understood the freedom of confession. We laughed about it, but for a long time, the thought of it did not evoke laughter.

It began with my teacher instructing me to copy the poem. It progressed with me copying it and her entering it into the competition. Then, as I stood on that stage, my teacher met me with a gaze that said you didn’t really do this but you better never tell anyone.

I was all in.

At any point I could have admitted this horrible lie, but it kept compounding and I kept burying it deeper and deeper until it was so far down that it only surfaced occasionally. I wasn’t meant to live like that. You aren’t meant to live like that.

There are times when we are victims of others, and times when we bear the burden of our own choices, but there is a common thread to freedom that can come regardless of the circumstances.

A precious friend reminded me that confessing our fears and poor choices takes power away from the enemy. When we say it aloud, his grip slips. He thrives on the personal anguish we subject ourselves to, encouraging us to give up.

It was the time of year when kings were supposed to be in battle, but David chose to stay behind. While on his rooftop one evening, he saw the beautiful Bathsheba and had her brought to him. Then he got her pregnant. Then he tried to cover it up by bringing back her husband from the battle. Then, when Uriah proved to be too honorable, David had him killed and took Bathsheba for his wife.

By the time David was done digging his hole, it was so deep he couldn’t climb out on his own. But David repented and God forgave him. David did have consequences, just as I did, but the forgiveness was complete.

If you think you’re in too deep, think again. God is in the business of rescuing us, and He is never shocked by the things we do. He is ready and willing to forgive when we take responsibility for our actions. His love for us is exponentially greater than we can understand.

Do not keep it hidden.

 

 

Don’t Call Me Religious

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single wooden cross

 

I’m a conservative Christian. There you have it. I have officially labeled myself for the world. That label is going to conjure up nasty images for some, and positive images for others, but in reality, it’s just a label. That means I’m religious doesn’t it?

In the end, that label doesn’t matter a hill of beans to the woman standing on the side of the road holding the sign, or to the girl who just left the guy’s apartment the morning after she met him the night before, or to the boy who just told his Christian parents he’s gay, or to the woman who sold herself to make rent, or to the woman who just heard her husband tell her he’s found someone else, or to the guy who just became a widower in an instant and was left with three small grieving hearts while his own has been torn to pieces.

The last time I took a spiritual gifts inventory, I found that my top three gifts were evangelism, teaching and prophecy (and no, that doesn’t mean I am given visions of the future). I was thrilled because it affirmed the desire of my heart to be a public speaker and bible teacher. To me it was like I hit the spiritual jackpot.

Except…

I didn’t really want to get my hands dirty. It’s comfortable in my chair where I can peck away on my keyboard. Parking the car and hiking my leg up over the guard rail to talk to the homeless person with little hope, not so much. I wanted to inspire the world through my blog and then go make myself a sandwich. Ministering from the comfort of my own home. Do as I say, not as I do, right?

I have spoken a great deal about topics that touch me deeply biblically, but I haven’t been one to dive into the trenches myself. Jesus has given me victory over certain sin in my life, but that doesn’t exempt me from others or mean that I need to sit in righteous indignation when I see a sister struggling. Quite the opposite.

The more I learn about Jesus, the less I like how I represent Him. We are beaten, bloodied and battered by the enemy whose one goal is take our eyes off the prize of Jesus. If he can accomplish that through division and hate filled diatribes on social media, he will. If he can accomplish that by convincing a young person that she is beyond hope so she may as well end it now, he will do that too. He will do anything, so we have to do everything. Everything we can to show others the real Jesus.

By the way, I have yet to hear the testimony of a new believer who came to Christ because they were shamed into it by the vitriol from believers on social media. If you say you are a Christian, don’t do it.

Some of us go to church on Sunday and check it off the list so we feel good about the week ahead. The problem with this is that the church was not meant to be a building. It was meant to be a body of believers who don’t merely listen to a feel good sermon on Sundays. The believers were supposed to go and share the good news of the only One who can really change lives.

A disconnect exists when we call people sinners and then tell them to have a nice life, while we pat ourselves on the back for defending Jesus. We have to be there with those who are broken, showing them the face of Christ. He spent His earthly ministry among the broken.

One of my favorite parts of Scripture is when Jesus meets the woman at the well in John 4. He knows she has been married five times and now has a live-in boyfriend. If this isn’t enough to consider her an outcast, she’s also a misfit Samaritan, half Jew, half Gentile, and she’s a woman. By society’s standards at the time, it didn’t get much lower than that.

Yet Jesus didn’t just break protocol and talk with her in public in the middle of the day. He went one step further and she became immortalized in Scripture as the first person Jesus revealed Himself to as Messiah. He didn’t look at her in a religious light. He looked at her in a grace and mercy filled light.

We need to stop being religious and start being relational. We need to quit dressing up on Sunday and forgetting what we heard by Monday morning, and we need to stop pretending like what we see out there is not our business. If we want to truly follow Christ, we can’t consider ourselves religious and refuse to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

 

Don’t Count the Numbers

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Festival Crowd

 

The day I turned 30, I thought I would never be happy again. Turning 30 meant saying goodbye to my youth and all the attention I desired from men. Attention from men I had no business desiring because I was a married woman.

It wasn’t until last week that the mystery of my attention seeking ways and misery over a lost youth was completely unlocked for me. I was miserable because I wasn’t who I thought I would be at 30, and I had not accomplished what I thought I would by 30.

What a lie.

When I started my tiny little home-based business, I tried to figure out how I was going to manage my time at home with my daughter and run it. I found out that it is not very difficult to run a home-based business and raise a child when you are not overwhelmed with clients.

When I started my blog, I eagerly refreshed the stats page several times a day on the days I posted, just waiting for my post to go viral. The only thing viral I have experienced since starting my blog gave me a runny nose.

Why?

Because I was doing all of it for the right One, but the wrong reason.

I was busy gauging success by my own standard of measurement and setting expectations I had no business setting. I had won the gold medal before the gun went off, just certain that my plan had to be God’s plan. Yes, God called me to start a blog, but the moment I started it, I took over and asked Him to sit in the back seat.

The greatest king Israel saw before Jesus was King David. He stumbled and failed God numerous times, but he had a heart for God. David was repentant when he sinned, and God blessed David for it.

In 1 Chronicles 21:1, Satan incited David to take a census. Satan tempted David and David fell for it, and 2 Samuel 24:1 tells us God allowed it. It wasn’t that counting the numbers of his vast army was something a king was never to do. In this case it was wrong because David was doing it out of pride. By counting the numbers, he was opening himself up to the wrong belief that his strength rested in his military power, instead of the One who was all powerful.

God allowed Satan to tempt David for the purpose of growth. At this point, David was at a crossroads. Take responsibility for his actions or make excuses. David took responsibility.

Over the course of a few days I had three people ask me the same question. “Are you doing this for you or God?” That’s a great question, and one I wasn’t sure I liked the answer to.

There will always be someone more intelligent, someone with more blog hits, someone with more money, or someone with more natural talent. Truthfully, it doesn’t matter. God called me to be obedient. That’s it. The rest is up to Him.

So here’s the deal. I have never been dishonest on my blog. Everything I have written is as true as I know it to be. But I will not be doing any of it for the blog hits any more. I’m doing it for the Lord. He’s the one that matters.

There is a world full of hurting, lost and devastated people. There is a mighty God who holds the answer to the freedom we seek. You and I need to stop trying to please ourselves while merely trying to appease God. He knows our hearts.

Don’t count the numbers.

 

 

The Promise of New Life

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Oak Tree

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” –John 8:10-11 (ESV)

There is an oak tree behind my house that fascinates me. Every winter it holds on to its dead leaves until spring arrives and the new buds force them off the branches. The old leaves hold on the entire winter through wind, rain, and snow, refusing to let go until the promise of new life releases them.

How often do we hold on to what we were instead of moving on to what we are meant to be? We all look for security, and often we would rather stay in our comfort zones as opposed to taking a leap of faith and following our destined path.

When Jesus met the woman who committed adultery in John chapter 8, He already knew she had been caught with a man who wasn’t her husband. He knew that she was being used by the Pharisees to try to trap Him. He knew the man was not being held accountable, only her. He knew that she was suffering.

And still He forgave her, challenging anyone without sin to cast the first stone.

There was more to the story though, and it paints a beautiful picture of God’s plan for us. Jesus told her to go and sin no more. This was not a call to live a perfect life; we know that is impossible.  Jesus was telling her to let go of this old life, leave it at His feet, and move forward a redeemed woman.

I remember holding on to a job too long because I was afraid of living paycheck to paycheck. I remember holding on too tightly to an unhealthy relationship because I was afraid of being alone. I remember crying on my thirtieth birthday because I didn’t want to let go of my twenties. I also remember holding out on having a baby because I was afraid I wouldn’t be a good mother.

Thankfully, God pushed me to let go even when I didn’t feel ready in each circumstance, and I was so much more richly blessed because of it. Every time I have attempted to orchestrate my destiny, I have been left feeling empty and hollow. Every time I have allowed God to take His rightful place at the helm of my life, I have not been disappointed.

We definitely need to wait for God’s timing in our lives, and acting without His lead will take us down paths we aren’t meant to go. But letting go of unhealthy choices before we have the assurance of something new is a leap of faith that honors God and frees us.

Blessings!

A Mission to Serve

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Haiti004

3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.  Matthew 13:3-5 (ESV)

As we were led to the pickup truck that would take us to the mission, we had not yet left the airport and my fifteen year old heart was already overwhelmed. I stared at the small fingers clinging to the fence as little faces begged, “Gives me one dolla.” I climbed into the back of the truck, put on my sunglasses and waited for our departure to the mission.

During the long, bumpy drive, we passed through villages where women and children lined the roads asking us to buy bananas. The sun was setting, but I kept my sunglasses on in an absurd effort to hide from the poverty that stretched before me. Small, sweet faces haunted me as they stood by the side of the road scantily clad with distended bellies.

This was Haiti, and it was worse than anything I could have imagined.

We finally arrived at the mission, our home away from home, and it was a far cry from the warm bed I was used to. We were greeted by a group of women who had come to know Christ, their lives forever changed. They were thrilled to see the Americans who were here to help them build a better life.

One afternoon we had a torrential rain storm. We were tired from our days of back-breaking work so we ran out into the road and let the rain wash over us. It wasn’t long before the fun began, and in a short time, we were not only drenched but also covered in red clay. The Haitian women laughed and clapped in delight as we let go with wild abandon. I was dismayed that my favorite shirt was ruined.

Several hours later, to my utter amazement, my shirt was spotless. There was no trace of clay left in the fabric. One of the women approached me tentatively and told me she had cleaned it as a display of gratitude for the entertainment. She painstakingly washed every inch of the fabric by hand. It took her hours. Looking back, I know that this was a woman who understood the gospel. We were there to serve her, and she found a way to serve us.

Living in America, it can be a challenge to have perspective. We live in a country filled with excess, and we gorge ourselves on it. I don’t believe that we are meant to feel guilty for where we live or how we are blessed, but I do believe that we must be careful to view it for the gift that it is, and use it for a greater purpose.

I have complained that I have nothing to wear as I looked a closet full of clothes. I have complained that my house isn’t large enough even though there are only three of us. I have stared straight ahead as I tried desperately to avoid eye contact with the person holding the cardboard sign, willing the light to turn green. I have been envious of the nicer cars, the bigger house, the better this and the better that.

It was Jesus who washed the dirty feet of the disciples the night before He was to die for our transgressions. In an incredible display of humility, God Himself performed the lowliest of tasks. Nothing was beneath Him.

God has given us each gifts that we can use to either serve ourselves or others. There is no earthly possession we can take with us when we leave, and serving others is far more important than a larger house, a larger wardrobe or greater social status in the community.

Whether it is encouragement, spending time with someone, financial means or the promise to pray something through, we can all make the choice to serve Him well.

Will you pray for God to show you where you can serve?