A Simple Smile

Sometimes I think we struggle on how to share our love of Jesus. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves. If we are honest we don't want to hear a negative response. We don't want to be rejected. It doesn't matter how many times we are reminded that we aren't the ones being rejected, but Him. Still, I believe we are hesitant and go about our daily lives. We aren't all called to be missionaries. Or wait, are we? Scripture doesn't say, those called to be missionaries, spread the gospel, but we are all to go into the world and spread the good news. So how do we do that when we are called to be parents, employees, employers, etc. Those are callings too. May I suggest a smile.

This past week, I was having a very normal day. I had errands to run and like you, was on a time table. I had one more stop to make and honestly, I was not looking forward to it. I needed new capri pants and sadly if you don't get them now in a few weeks, you won't find them among all the winter clothes. Drives me crazy when you can't find seasonal clothes during the actual season. I am getting sidetracked.  Anyway, I entered the store, tried on several pair, found two that worked. I had to wait longer in line and I decided to just wait it out. It is in those moments that I remember usually God is behind the waiting and so I need to be patient.

I was coming out the door  and I heard him before I saw him. He shouted, "you should try smiling a bit more". I turned to him and actually wasn't sure if this was someone who was bitter at the world or if he truly liked my smile. I didn't even think about what came out of my mouth. My response, "I have much to be smiling about". He then shouted across the parking lot, which at this point people were starting to stare and stop. When you focus on things above instead of down, you can smile. He shared with me that 30 years ago, he and his wife were expecting a child and she lost the baby. He was very angry about that and he said it wasn't until recently that he heard "the Jeremiah guy" (Dr. David Jeremiah) tell him that his son would be in heaven. So, that got him to thinking. He said he can't get enough. He listens to every program he can that the Jeremiah guy speaks on. He also said he had literature in his car if I was interested. I told him I enjoy Dr. David Jeremiah very much as well and I would rather someone who needed it, received it. He then shared he had been waiting for his twin aunts who were shopping in the store. I shared I had twins. I want to keep this short so I will not share all the details of our conversation, but I want to share the end of our time together. I shared about my testimony of our daughters. He smiled from ear to ear. I can't put into words the joy it brings me to see the excitement of Christ on another believers face. He was close to 60 and I am guessing many of those years were not with Jesus. But he now lives with a relationship with him. Sadly, his wife doesn't. Pray for her. I don't know names, but Jesus does. He said again how much the Jeremiah guy means to him and he wishes he could be friends with him or meet him some day. I turned to him and said, but if you have a relationship with Jesus, that makes you and him brothers! He beamed and turned to me and said, I need to give you a hug and kiss on the cheek. I got the biggest bear hug. He was beaming for Jesus! No hesitation. No fear. People still watching, still listening, some even laughing with us because of the joy on our faces. His aunts came out and he shared with them about me and asked me to repeat my story. Then he said to them, I have been preaching in the parking lot while waiting for you.

On my drive home, I realized, Jesus was shared and discussed in a hot, sunny, parking lot. Not a bible in hand, no tracts, no prepared speech. Just one believer with a new believer. The wait in the store was so I wouldn't miss him, as I had going in the store. Is it really that easy? Yes, it is my friend. It all starts with a smile and why we are smiling. People don't want preached at. People want to hear how you have been impacted. They want to see Jesus in you. Jesus works out the details. Jesus gives the words and the appointed time. We just need to trust and show up, even on a busy already full day. You never know what a day could bring. I encourage you to look for interesting ways to share Jesus with others, sometimes you may not need to say a word. I bet 10 people or more watched and paused. We were shouting back and forth for awhile. I don't know what they thought or what our actions caused in them, but they were listening.

One final thought: this time of year we have many things getting ready for harvest. Whether it be crops in the fields or our gardens. As I picked the green beans this week and watched the combine gather the wheat, I was reminded of Christ telling the disciples that the fields were ready but the workers were few. How sad that there could be people ready to hear the gospel, but we the workers are so busy with our personal lives that the harvest can't be done. What if you planted, weeded, watered and prepared your garden and then just watched the fruit and veggies ripen only to drop to the ground because you never gathered them? Is that how it is for God? I want to think he would send other workers, but I don't know that. I don't want to hear that this person isn't in heaven because I was too busy. I want to always be looking for ways to serve Him and do the part he had for me. Remember, my part isn't your part and vice versa. Pray throughout the day asking the Holy Spirit to guide you. Some days are quiet and other days you can feel His leading. Keep asking and being willing.

The harvest is ready. Are you a worker or a slacker?

A Packet of Seeds

A few months ago, we were dealing with freezing temperatures and snow, snow, snow. The wind would whip right through you and we needed to wear layers. On one of the cold March winter days, my husband and I went shopping for our garden supplies. We knew spring would be coming and we had the day to spend together running errands. While in the store we saw many, many goodies to be had. Seeds of sweet corn, green beans, onions, peas, lima beans, potatoes, etc. It helped to think of things warmer as the snow piled up outside. As we approached the register to pay, a packet of seeds caught my eye. They weren't on my list and honestly I don't know what made me see them. A packet of "mixed wildflowers" it said on the outside. Both he and I looked at each other and decided it was a packet of weeds. But then, he said to me " you know, you could try them and if they are weeds we can just spray them with Roundup and start something else later". I thought about it for awhile and thought what was the harm? So, we left that day with arms full of goodies.

The weather changed and the garden was plowed, the seeds for veggies were planted. The potatoes were starting to pop from under the dirt and the onions were in nice neat rows. The sweet corn was coming up and we had to make sure the rabbits and groundhogs didn't eat it before it had a chance to grow! When I went to get the green bean seeds from the closet shelf I saw our packet of weeds, oh, I mean wildflowers. Oh no! I had forgotten to plant them. I asked Bob to till up the soil in a sunny location and thought I would just see what happens. I was later than the directions said and Maggie thought the fresh dirt and moist soil was something she could and should play in. I sprinkled the seeds on top and lightly hoed a bit of dirt over top and walked away.

Imagine my surprise when a few quick short weeks later, tall blades of green were taking over the mud bed. I still thought they sure look like weeds. Bob wasn't too sure either that flowers were coming, but we decided to wait it out.

Today I took pictures.

 

 



As you can see, they are not weeds. They are beautiful wildflowers! Just as the packet said they would be. I smile as I walk past them and I even had our daughters come look at them.

Where is all this going? If you have read my posts in the past, you know God is in this post. As I thought back over the process, we are like those seeds. We may at first glance not look like much. We may compare ourselves to others and think we have nothing to offer. We think we aren't able to speak like he does. We aren't able to play an instrument. We aren't able to write beautiful songs, poems or messages. We aren't wealthy like they are, so we can't begin to do the things "they" do. The world looks at us and we at them and we all look the same, like the seeds.

But you see, God doesn't see plain simple seeds. He sees the beautiful creation you will be. He plants us in a garden that needs us. He plants us in a place that needs the special qualities only we can perform. I couldn't play a single note of anything to save my life. But I can teach, I can study His Word and share it. I can't financially buy everything the church needs, but I can give each week and that all adds up to something the church can use.

If you look closely at the pictures, go ahead scroll up and look, I will wait...there are many types of flowers. They aren't all the same plants. Some are taller, some are more colorful, some are short and are barely taller than the grass. There are also bees, bugs and even a grasshopper living life to the fullest because of those flowers. If we all had the same gifts and talents, it would get boring. If I could play an instrument, would I enjoy the music as much as I do at church, or would I be listening so carefully to see if they played it correctly. I don't listen for the missed note, I listen for the beauty of it.

I believe that when God looks at His garden He sees the beautiful flowers we will become. He needs to pull some weeds every now and then, you know those bad habits we have and the sins we need to confess, and then He sends just enough rain (showers of blessings) and sun(His Son) to help us grow. We grow as long as we have breath. My flowers will die soon, but the flowers in His garden (you and I) will all live different lengths of time on earth, but we all have to face the question of eternity. He placed you in a garden here to flourish with His help, but you get to decide where you will spend eternity. Will it be Heaven or Hell. That is our only two choices. By not picking one, you pick the other.

As the saying goes...Bloom where you have been planted. Unlike me who almost forgot and then just sprinkled them on the ground and walked away more sure they wouldn't survive than survive, you have been placed exactly where you should be. With the Holy Spirit's help and guidance, you can bloom just where you are, or maybe it is time for you to be transplanted to another part of the Master's giant garden. If so, hold on tightly to His hand and look for His leading as you get used to your new surroundings. If He moved you, it was for His purpose.