"AND LET US RUN WITH ENDURANCE THE RACE GOD HAS SET BEFORE US." Hebrews 12:3a

Some days I just feel like a frog in a frying pan...

There's a story that's been told about two frogs who fell into a vat of cream. These frogs knew they would soon die if they didn't keep paddling as fast as they could yet, try as they might, they could not jump out. It was not long before the first little frog became too tired to go on. He gave up, and, alas, he drowned in that vat of cream. The second frog persevered until he eventually churned that cream into butter. He was able to stand on top of the butter and hop out of the vat safe and sound - though very, very tired!

I remembered this little fable often during the time that my brother was sick. No matter how much pain he was in or how bleak the future looked, he kept leaning on God and fighting the good fight. When it took 3 1/2 years to receive his transplant - he kept fighting. When he developed complications from the transplant - he kept fighting. When he spent 9 months in the hospital away from his family and friends - he kept fighting. When his body literally petrified, leaving him paralyzed - he kept fighting. When he was in excruciating pain - he kept fighting.

It was not long before the mantra FROG - Fully Rely On God - began to have a deeper meaning to us. He was still leaning on God and fighting the good fight until God answered our prayers to heal him by taking him Home. That was eight years ago, but I still miss him dearly. And every time I see a frog, I think of him and feel challenged to Fully Rely On God - to fight the good fight - no matter what life throws my way. That's what this blog is about - the things God is teaching me and the tools He is giving me to walk that walk. Or should I say hop that hop - because sometimes life just feels like a great big frying pan!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Least of all.....

But many who are the greatest now will be least important then and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.     Matthew 19:30

     And who are the “least important”? And who are the “greatest”? This is, of course, a matter of opinion. So who gets to decide? What criteria should be used? I have the privilege to work every day with people who are too often labeled “the least important” because of their ethnicity and socioeconomic status. They live in the inner city and have so very little in the way of money or material possessions, but I stand before you today truly HUMBLED by the way they have touched my life.
     I am humbled like I have never been humbled before. These people who are considered “the least” by our society’s standards…. These people who have so very, very little themselves…. These people who work sometimes two and three jobs to provide for their families – who struggle harder than most of us can even fathom – who live in areas that are unsafe …… THESE people sent 1300 items to school with their children this week to be sent to the people suffering in Haiti – people who have even less than they do. Will you read about this in the paper like you do larger, more affluent schools that will collect far more? Probably not, but as I watched these children proudly carry their contributions through the door and hand them to their teachers, my heart broke at the sacrifices I knew their parents were making. I know because I have seen the suffering THEY have endured. I have comforted mothers worried because they didn’t have the money or food to provide lunches for their children until their lunch application was processed. I have worked with parents who have been anguished because they could not provide the proper clothing or obtain the necessary medical attention for their children. I have cried out to God in grief and frustration time and time again about situations I wanted to “fix” but over which I have no control. Yet these very people heard cries the cries for help and found a way to sacrifice for the people in Haiti who have nothing!
     I was humbled – brought to my knees before God. When was the last time I sacrificed to this degree? Have I ever? Sure, I brought my contributions, but they were not sacrificial. They were a mere token in comparison. As I looked around me today at the outpouring of love and mercy, it became very evident who truly IS the least of these – and society is very wrong! It has nothing to do with color, culture, economic background, or public opinion. In my eyes, today the “those who seem least important (became) the greatest”!
    
Lord, as I renew my focus on You, help me see the world around me through your eyes - see every person as You see them - every situation as You see it. Help me hear the world around me with Your ears that I will truly know and understand the hearts of the people with whom I come contact. May I focus on you so I hear Your voice. Thank you for all you have given me – all you have done for me. Please help me be bold and available – help me glorify Your name – to the least and to the greatest!
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