Hey friends and
family!
I'm so in love with
Jesus. Can I just say, without the Lord
I would be absolutely sunk! There's so
much that comes by being in the family of Christ; so much worked into being linked to Jesus, and there's not enough paper
to write it on, according to John the disciple.
:)
Jesus is the hope of
the world.
The Word of God in human flesh and form.
The reason for joy; the meaning of love.
Last Sunday, I was
able to attend the church service. Does
this sound odd? Well, in the phase in
which I find myself presently (baby, sick kids and fatigue), I find that getting
to the church house for fellowship and feeding, ministry and service comes as
quite the challenge. When I get to go,
I'm thrilled, refreshed and reconnected with friends I have - SERIOUSLY - not
seen in months.
There's something
sweet about the encountering of Jesus in all of the ways mentioned above. When we fellowship with people of the family
of God, we share Christ, unity, bonding, and much more. When we are fed from the pulpit or classes,
we hear Jesus, and our faith is strengthened.
When we minister, we are sharing Jesus' love and hope with others,
whether it's a hug of understanding, a warm smile of encouragement, or tears
shed for the sake of weeping with those who weep. Service, of course, shows Jesus' life and
light in ways that we don't understand because outside our physical realms lies
the heavenly one, wherein angels are entertained, and God omni-present!
The reflections of
Jesus to others (inside or outside the body of Christ) can have such an eternal
affect on those around us. Wherever we
are; whatever we are.
As a mom, in
particular and especially, I forget what ways I'm impacting my children. They are my "world." They are the viewers of my life; the
spectators of my day-in-day-out activities and reactions.
God reminded me of this again last Sunday...
The worship music
started.
There was unity in song.
There was blessedness in community.
At one point, I
simply stood in silence and listened as those around me as they lifted the name
of Jesus. Sometimes there was 3-part
harmony, but I wasn't noting that as much as the squeeze I felt at my side.
My daughter.
My only daughter.
My child.
She'd stayed with me
and stood by me for songs and announcements.
It was just the two of us there at the time as hubster elected to stay
with the sicklies of the house, giving me a worship service.
Very different, yet strangely wonderful.
As we sang, the phrase, "I know the world needs Jesus," entered the
worship hall. Have you heard this
song?
The chorus goes like this:
"I know the world needs Jesus.
I know the world needs freedom.
So give us eyes to see the hurting and the broken.
Let our lives align
with every word You say."
It's beautiful. Following the chorus, it weighed heavily on
me - almost to sorrow - what God was saying by the seemingly random side hug
from my baby girl. "Your children need
Jesus, Deirdre. All five of them. They all need Me, and you need to show Me to
them."
I cried.
For the first time
in my life as a mom, I realized that the person of Jesus - the Healer,
Restorer, Savior, Redeemer, and King - was not the subject of conversation on a
regular basis. My children - my
"world" - did not know Jesus, and further still, did not know their
need for Him.
Oh, the shame and
pain.
Oh, the guilt of having hidden the Light under a basket.
That day changed
me. The Spirit opened me up to humbling
and recovery. I need to do things
differently at my home. I even changed the lyrics of the song above in order to better relate to my calling.
"I know my kids need Jesus.
I know my kids need freedom.
So give me eyes to see their hurting and their breaking.
Let my life align with every word You say."
So...I slipped this entry into Proverbs 22:6 which says, "Train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old he will not depart from it." I believe with my whole heart that being the Light in my "world" is a good portion of what it means to train my children in the understanding of God. My reflecting Jesus, sharing His Word, and being His hands and feet to them can impact them for life in the way they should go!
I encourage you,
friends, wherever you are and whatever you are: seek to be Jesus to your
"world." If God has not called
you to a full-time ministry as pastor's wife, missionary, bible translator,
bible professor, don't worry. He's
called you to full-time ministry as mom, wife, Wendy's employee, amusement park
vendor, garbage man, you name it! In
your "world," there are people who need Jesus. In your "world," there are those
who need to taste and see that He is good; they NEED freedom from the chains of
sin, death and hell that can only be granted by faith in Jesus the Christ.
I love God the
Holy Spirit. I love His biddings. Yes, sometimes they are difficult to swallow
and digest, but they are timely mercies.
They are gracious urges to do that which is of utmost importance!
In God's mercies and much love,
Deeds
