March 27 - Believe

I had a blowout while driving today.  Miraculously crossing over six lanes of freeway, I had barely settled to a stop when a young man pulled up and stepped over to my car. In today's times, I'm never quite sure about anyone who approaches me, no matter the circumstances, but this young man, Scott, was wonderful.  With a beautiful, unthreatening demeanor, he worked with confidence and skill in handling my car and the remnants of my tire.  When finished, he had given up just under an hour of his day and stood before me covered in grease and road sludge. I fall into the category of those who rarely carry cash and did not have as much as a rag to offer him to clean his hands. I tried emptying my purse: two gift cards to a burger place, some mostly used Starbucks cards. I offered to follow him to a gas station and fill up his car. I felt totally inadequate. In retrospect, I did sacrifice the t-shirt I had in my car to cover the wheel so grease would not get into my trunk. The thoughtful act would have been to offer it to Scott and simply clean my trunk later.

Why am I beating myself up over this? Scott was my angel. He was the one that God chose to place in my life right at that moment. The true sacrifice of our Lord was very apparent in this beautiful stranger. He lifted me out of a desperate moment and I was found completely inadequate and so wrapped up in my "stuff" that I could not even offer him a rag to wash his hands.  I am ashamed.

For countless reasons, I am very thankful God saw fit to spare my life today. Mostly, I shudder to think of what I would say if I were to see Him face to face right now. I feel certain that when He would reach out to hold me, my tears would be pouring into nail marks smeared with grease.


So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." - John 20:25

March 18 - Labor

A familiar fable from my childhood years is the story of the Little Red Hen. She planted, reaped, prepared, and cooked her family a delicious meal while the lazy neighbors watched.  The moral: laziness equates to an absence on the guest list. Yet, in my particular storybook, I wasn't convinced. I noticed the baby chicks got to share in the meal. Throughout the book the illustrator crafted them holding seeds, playing with a hoe, licking the serving spoon, etc., but it appeared to my child's mind that they never worked as hard as the mother hen. When I asked my mother why they ate when they didn't cook, she pointed out that they did help; every little bit they gave was perfectly enough for their mother. 

How blessed we are that our Heavenly Father feels our labor is enough. When we feel we can't give enough, that our labor is in vain, we have no respect, our efforts fail, remember: God calls us to love Him, and serve Him. We are not called to be the best, the most successful, or the greatest. We are called to love Him and within this love, He fills all our needs and we share in the greatest banquet of all times.


As the share of the man who goes into battle, so is the share of the man who stays with the baggage. - 1 Samuel 30:24b

March 17 - Perception

Have you ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go right? Perhaps it is not the moment that is going wrong, but our perception of what our moment should be.  When you come up against obstacles, whether they be physical, mental or spiritual, try to look at them through God's eyes. Letting Him guide helps us to feel His Grace even when the moments are rough. And with His strength within, we may even be able to manage a smile when things don't go according to our plans.