In Front of Your Nose - Part 2
When I was writing the last post I realized I sounded like I was an observer of other people's sinful behavior and I knew I was describing myself as well. That's when I decided to go back and add the painfully embarrassing comments about my "boring" sisters in Christ. Please if you know me don't waste time wondering if you are someone I might have thought was boring. If I did think such a thing it shows a greater lack in me than in you.
Many times if I listen carefully and interact wisely I will discover a lesson or an insight that I could easily have missed. The lessons that God gives, with you as the giver or the receiver are not listed neatly on some schedule like you used to get when you registered for college. They often pop up in unexpected places involving unexpected people.
Many years ago there was a seemingly very fragile woman who attended our church. Miss Mockett lived in the basement apartment of a home. She managed to walk wherever she needed to go, her posture straight, her hair neatly pulled back. Miss Mockett was content with very little. Her apartment was sparsely furnished. One Christmas I gave her sugar cookies in the shape of various holiday symbols sprinkled with generous amounts of colored sugar. Miss Mockett called to express her appreciation. All I could remember was my frustration over the lack of volunteers to make the "for Christmas only" cookies. My years of experience making them did not result in each piece of cut dough flawlessly transferring to the cookie sheet, or every wayward granule of colored sugar staying on the counter or jumping into the dust pan She told me she was only eating one a day so she could prolong the pleasure of the treat we shared with her.My response to making the cookies had been to complain. Her response to receiving them was to bless. For a long time when we spoke of savoring a blessing we said we were going to mockett it. This elderly woman seemed to have so little to give and yet the image of her frugality and relishing God's blessings is a memory I treasure today.
In the same church a quiet woman named Millie played the organ regularly. Millie worked at a local ministry that had its headquarters downtown. Although I'm sure she could probably have told us about the Christian "celebrities" she encountered I don't think the thought crossed her mind. When we moved to that church it was a very hot August and I was almost seven months pregnant, with Josh the youngest of our four. Millie quickly became Josh's indispensable Aunt Millie and the primary guest at his first birthdays. She was his first babysitter. As he grew she would have him over to make cookies that he would help her ice using an icing Millie made from raspberry jello. Millie also would have him help work her small garden. We have a small photo album Millie assembled to commemorate their activities. Millie actively loved our son while she continued to serve others. Millie was one of the influences that caused me to interact more with the children of the church, to treat them as people in their own right and not just extensions of their parents.
Another church and another woman provided an unexpected example. I would never look to Rose to lead a Bible study, speak before a woman's group, or articulate Biblical truths during a Sunday school class. What I did see was a woman who loved her husband, her children, her friends, and her church family well. Prayer was central to her life. She always had a kind word for everyone. Her life was not easy and yet she never seemed lost in her own world. Your troubles were as real to her as her own. I felt refreshed when I talked to her. Her simple faith was clear and comforting. Along with Paul, Rose could have said "Be like me as I am like Christ." but I am not sure Rose ever understood herself as someone like Christ.
Miss Mockett, Millie and Rose were all three quiet women who could never be known for the excitement they brought into the lives of others. You would not have turned to any of them for great spiritual insights. You would have turned to them when you wanted to be loved, appreciated, or prayed for. In three different ways all three of them were quiet conduits of God's grace. Unexciting as they were I would do well to be like them as they were like Christ.
Many times if I listen carefully and interact wisely I will discover a lesson or an insight that I could easily have missed. The lessons that God gives, with you as the giver or the receiver are not listed neatly on some schedule like you used to get when you registered for college. They often pop up in unexpected places involving unexpected people.
Many years ago there was a seemingly very fragile woman who attended our church. Miss Mockett lived in the basement apartment of a home. She managed to walk wherever she needed to go, her posture straight, her hair neatly pulled back. Miss Mockett was content with very little. Her apartment was sparsely furnished. One Christmas I gave her sugar cookies in the shape of various holiday symbols sprinkled with generous amounts of colored sugar. Miss Mockett called to express her appreciation. All I could remember was my frustration over the lack of volunteers to make the "for Christmas only" cookies. My years of experience making them did not result in each piece of cut dough flawlessly transferring to the cookie sheet, or every wayward granule of colored sugar staying on the counter or jumping into the dust pan She told me she was only eating one a day so she could prolong the pleasure of the treat we shared with her.My response to making the cookies had been to complain. Her response to receiving them was to bless. For a long time when we spoke of savoring a blessing we said we were going to mockett it. This elderly woman seemed to have so little to give and yet the image of her frugality and relishing God's blessings is a memory I treasure today.
In the same church a quiet woman named Millie played the organ regularly. Millie worked at a local ministry that had its headquarters downtown. Although I'm sure she could probably have told us about the Christian "celebrities" she encountered I don't think the thought crossed her mind. When we moved to that church it was a very hot August and I was almost seven months pregnant, with Josh the youngest of our four. Millie quickly became Josh's indispensable Aunt Millie and the primary guest at his first birthdays. She was his first babysitter. As he grew she would have him over to make cookies that he would help her ice using an icing Millie made from raspberry jello. Millie also would have him help work her small garden. We have a small photo album Millie assembled to commemorate their activities. Millie actively loved our son while she continued to serve others. Millie was one of the influences that caused me to interact more with the children of the church, to treat them as people in their own right and not just extensions of their parents.
Another church and another woman provided an unexpected example. I would never look to Rose to lead a Bible study, speak before a woman's group, or articulate Biblical truths during a Sunday school class. What I did see was a woman who loved her husband, her children, her friends, and her church family well. Prayer was central to her life. She always had a kind word for everyone. Her life was not easy and yet she never seemed lost in her own world. Your troubles were as real to her as her own. I felt refreshed when I talked to her. Her simple faith was clear and comforting. Along with Paul, Rose could have said "Be like me as I am like Christ." but I am not sure Rose ever understood herself as someone like Christ.
Miss Mockett, Millie and Rose were all three quiet women who could never be known for the excitement they brought into the lives of others. You would not have turned to any of them for great spiritual insights. You would have turned to them when you wanted to be loved, appreciated, or prayed for. In three different ways all three of them were quiet conduits of God's grace. Unexciting as they were I would do well to be like them as they were like Christ.
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