A Cause for Joy

Just outside our yard is the ditch. The nasty, foul-smelling two-foot deep sewage ditch. 

I always hold my breath as I walk alongside it...trying to just get past it as quickly as possible. 

But not this morning. This time, I stop. 

Something's new. Something's different. I pause.

There is something beautiful midst the horrid stench. With eyes wide, I smile. {In doing so, I am silently giving glory to the One who made it.}

It's a vibrant hue of deep pink has sprung up from the depths of the ditch. It stands in stark contrast to the dull gray and brownish-green sludge about it.

A flower.

For a moment I forget the full assault on my nose. I forget my goal to just get past it quickly. Instead, I find myself enjoying the blessing, the moment of better things. The gift of the flower in the sludge. {I'm enjoying Better Things.}

This is what I want for our family to be in our neighborhood {or wherever we find ourselves within a given day}. A flower of blessing. A cause for enjoying the Better Thing - even if only for a moment. Even if they don't yet realize Whom it is they are enjoying.

"And I will bless you...and so you shall be a blessing...and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." Genesis 12:2-3

We hope to be an instrument for enlightening eyes and brightening hope. To perhaps even cause rise to an inexpressible joy for those who may be hurting, discouraged, or simply in need of a true Friend {perhaps their day - or week - has been like that nasty ditch!}. To faithfully leave the fragrance of Christ along our path.

"But thanks be to God, who...manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God..." 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

This Summer, as a family we have been loving and serving our neighbors in the simplest of ways. Building a culture of love and service within our family that spills over onto those around us. Practicing love in a thousand little ways. Knowing that when we are faithful in the little things, God will enable and equip us well for the big things. Seeking to make loving and serving others such a part of our fabric, that to do otherwise would seem foolish, even absurd.

As promised, here are some of the ways we've enjoyed loving on others lately:

*During the heat of the tropical sun, our neighbors are fasting for their holy month. They neither eat nor drink during the daylight hours. They are tired and fatigued, and without rain, they are extremely hot and weak. So, in order to be a source of blessing and refreshment, the girls and I took out our water hoses and starting making it "rain" on our street, allowing the children {and some adults} to enjoy some reprieve from the blazing mid-day sun. Such beautiful laughter was our blessing in return!

*We have brought home-made baked goods to our neighbor's homes...just because. In a happy surprise, one of the wives has asked to come over so that I can teach her how to make a certain cookie so that she may turn around and bless a family member {who lives on the other side of the country} with a special treat! 

*My daughter has given out loom bracelets that she had made to kids in the neighborhood. That has been WELL received! 

*My husband has been spending time with a guy who "simply wants a friend." They have had great conversations around our table while sipping tea late into the night. Simply being a friend.

O Lord, thank You for Your act of love that was displayed once for all on Calvary, and thank You for every act of love You have lavished upon us thereafter. Jesus, let now Your Name be magnified in our attempts to love for You and through You. May Your Name be lifted high! Amen.

How has God used you and/or your family to love others this Summer? I'd love to hear...and to be encouraged by how the Lord is working through others around the world!