TRANSFORMING THURSDAY
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Three young girls touched my heart last night and changed what I decided to post here today. I've shared recently that our church family is in transition as we move out of our building that has been sold as of June 30. We've rented a house for the offices but right now have no place to go yet for our worship services and Bible classes. Things seem unclear! It requires FAITH! During uncertainty there is stress and stress often leads to questioning / fear / taking our eyes off of Jesus. Once all of that happens, then lack of faith leads to a lack of hope and love. I've seen that "crazy cycle" happen over and over again.
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Last night as three third and fourth grade girls helped me pack up our Bible classroom, I listened to them talk and together we quoted the 23rd Psalm over and over. Then, we began our "ABC's of Jesus". What hearts! These three girls names actually start with "A", "B", and "C". I see many of the characteristics of Jesus in each of them. So, I'll call them my "ABC Jesus friends".
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"A" recently said that her favorite part of the 23rd Psalm was "when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me...". I've thought a lot about that and realize that statement needs to be true even when there isn't death involved. In other words, "when I walk through the valley of the shadows... I will fear no evil for You are with me..."
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My cell phone camera is very light sensitive. It really does depend on the amount of light as to the quality of my pictures. When there is less light or more shadow, the picture is unclear. It doesn't mean that the object(s) is not there. What it really means is that my camera has issues! My camera literally needs to be moved closer to the light to change it's perception. It would be odd if my camera began speaking each time it took an unclear picture, "It's not my fault! You're just a bad picture taker!"
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Here... let me show you...
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1. DARKNESS TO LIGHT... pictures on the evening of Perry's birth 6/3/10 to pictures taken the next day in the sunlight....
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2. DARKNESS TO LIGHT...on Saturday evening 6/5, as we prayed with Pitman elders and wives at the building site, I first took pictures from the south, east and north sides. Then, picture taken with the west side and the evening sun shining over my shoulder...
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Last night as I listened to my "ABC Jesus friends", I felt that I was on holy ground... such pure hearts... such a desire to please God... to please me... asking honest questions... sharing thoughts and feelings openly... As I listened and observed, I heard and saw LOVE...
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LOVE ALWAYS PROTECTS: "C" said, "That's OK!", "No problem!", and "No worries!"
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LOVE ALWAYS TRUSTS: They each talked about how they were going to miss our current building with all of it's memories, yet they know that GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF US!
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LOVE ALWAYS HOPES: Their talk was positive, encouraging, and indicative of hearts who knew that a bright future lay ahead.
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LOVE ALWAYS PERSEVERES: They did not stop working. In fact, they wanted to do several things over to make sure they were "done right". They were disappointed when it was time to stop.
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Being with my ABC Jesus friends transformed my attitude... my whole day... because they gave me a clearer picture of Jesus... of God... of Love...
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There's more to this story. Stop back by at tomorrow's post to hear the rest of the story involving my ABC Jesus Friends. It has something to do with this song:
I know a man who as a young boy had a heart very much like my ABC Jesus Friends... and still does. His name is Caleb Sikes. He is our third child and today he turnes 25 years old. Happy Birthday, Caleb, from very blessed transformed mom!.
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