Happy Monday!

John 17:6 “Thine they were; and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.”
Matthew 25: 21 “ Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”

Today God used me. I love to serve God when I am called to serve. Most of the time I know what my service is going to be such as serving in worship, or visiting someone in the hospital or helping with Happening. But today I sort of fell into God’s service when I really had other plans.

I had teacher inservice today. Most of the time, the majority of the teachers and leaders go out for lunch. I usually bring my lunch and work at the school doing grading or getting caught up on reading for seminary. Today God had other plans for my lunch time.

The building emptied and I found myself alone in a school. So I heated my soup and got out my papers to grade. Within a few minutes one of the teaching assistants from my school came running back into the school. She was so very excited. Her name is Mary and she is from Peru. She had just received a phone call from some friends from Peru and much to her surprise they were in town. All the way from Peru! She was ecstatic! Mary speaks English, but with a still very heave Peruvian accent and so you have to listen very hard to understand her when she speaks. She began to tell me about her phone call and how she hoped she would get to see these dear friends.

Mary had no car and no lunch. I shared my yogurt, a granola bar and one of my bottles of water and listened to her as she enthusiastically told me about her friends, how she met her husband, her needing a green card and a lot of other things. She was so full of joy and happiness that it made me glad that I had stayed at school to eat and work. As I walked up the stairs to the microwave I gave thanks that God could use me in such a way. I got to be there when Mary so needed to share her joy. Maybe that was the reason that I was the only one in the building.

What I did with Mary was just listen. It was no great task, I did not part the water or turn water into wine or preach a great sermon, I just stopped my grading, shared a meal and found myself being blessed by getting caught up in her joy.

Faithful service in the little things can be the loveliest way we can share God’s love.

Take joy in the journey take an umbrella, wear comfortable shoes and walk with a friend. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.