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| My choice of footwear |
While
sipping on my Starbucks and doing a bit of people watching, I began to think
about the choices we make each day. For
example, a boy walked by dressed in purple sportswear—he had the hat, shirt,
shorts, and matching shoes. When he woke
up this morning, I’m sure he put thought in to his outfit and cared that it all
went together. I saw men in dress shirts
and slacks, women in dresses and heels, and then people who were obviously more
concerned with being comfortable for their long journeys. There were people clothed in religious
attire, a Mennonite family and a Catholic priest. I saw cowboy boots, flip flops, tennis shoes,
decorative sandals and flats. But, this
morning, each person went to their closet or drawer and thought, “I will wear
this today.”
God reminded
me that I need to be even more concerned about the spiritual attire I put on
each day. My devotions this morning were
not exactly “earth shaking” and God brought Colossians 3:12 to mind. It says, “Clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
And later, in verse 14, it says, “And over all these virtues put on
love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Ephesians 6:11 encourages us to, “Put on the
full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
These are
virtues that I will need God to help me wear today, but it will also boil down
to making some tough choices. Can I zip
my lips and be patient if my next plane is delayed? Will I choose to wrap myself in compassion
for the tired child who missed his nap?
Can I decide to lace my words in kindness when confronted with a frazzled
traveler who is in a rush? I’m thankful
for the reminder in Romans 8:9—“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful
nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.” Here is my prayer: “God, please wrap me up in Your Spirit and
help my actions, words and attitudes to show that I chose to put YOU on today.”
What are you
wearing?
Things that made me smile today:
1. The announcer at the airport mispronouncing a
name and then saying, “Or something close to that.” (The poor guy—it was a difficult name and he
tried his best!)
2. The cart driver whistling the Andy Griffith
theme song as he sped by.
3. Getting my own row on the flight from
Missoula to Denver!!
I love that, Janene. I choose Jesus. As I'm driving around running errands or commuting to work I listen to a Christian radio station. God is so good to always speak to me... to exactly what I need to hear every time! He then confirms that thru the sermon....over and over again. Two family members have disowned me because of my stand for Christian values. It's been incredibly painful. I tried for a while to hand on to the relationship. God finally told me to let go and walk away. I did. I'm praying for them to see how much God loves them and to give their lives to Him. But.... I choose God. It's actually been the first time I've had to choose between God and someone else. God has proven Himself over and over to me. How could I choose otherwise?
ReplyDeleteIt's been my prayer when I go to work that I would be Jesus to the students and coworkers. He's given me great relationships....while still trying at times...with many difficult students and I'm so thankful to Him. My hope and prayer is that it is jesus that they are seeing. Thanks for letting me ramble on.
Thank you for reading and commenting Debbie! I appreciate it and I'm thankful God used it to be a blessing to you. I'm sorry for the pain you are experiencing from the separation of your two family members, but glad that God has given you peace about it. You are doing the right thing to pray for them and to not become bitter, though it would be easy.
ReplyDeleteGod will open doors of ministry to you as you continue to desire to model Jesus to those in your life. You are right--it's much easier said than done, but God will give you His grace and the love you need as you depend on Him. God bless you!
Great post, Janene! Good, good reminders about the choices I can make, and really fun(ny) observations, too. Awesome. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Sylvia! It was so much fun spending time with you this summer! Know that I miss you already! :) Thanks for the encouragement.
ReplyDelete