Loved, loved, LOVED getting to meet many of you last weekend at the ministers’ wives retreat!! Thank you for your willingness to share with me one-on-one your struggles, victories, hurts and insights.
For many of you who were not able to attend, for this week’s blog, I thought I would share a few of the things we talked about…and for those of you who were there…I thought I would also share some of the things we did not get to talk about since I ran out of time!!!
If you want to develop friends then Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone! Look outside the box!! Do not miss the unlikely sources where God would provide rich friendships.
Mrs. Shelton and her sitter
I knew she had moved into her son’s basement next door but I had not met her. One day her son dropped by my house with a beautiful, hand crocheted table runner. He told me his mom made it for me!! What? I had never even met her!! Why did she do that? He began to tell me that every day he would take her on a drive to get her out of the house. Each day as they would drive by my house she would ask him about me. He would tell her that I was a pastor’s wife….and God knit our hearts together and she ministered to me before we even met!
The next day I took a walk to their home to meet and thank her. Right before my eyes sat a beautiful, 90 something year old woman with the clearest and most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. Her silver hair shone like glass and her smile spoke years of love and loving and being loved. She wanted me to come close and kiss me. She took my hands and as she peered into my eyes, she told me how very beautiful I was!! Over and over how beautiful I was!! That began a beautiful friendship!! Who wouldn’t want a friend who told you you were beautiful???!!
Sitting with her was another Godly woman who came every day to take care of her….and she loved Jesus so much!! Over the next several months I would drop by as often as I could and the three of us would sit and visit and share about our God. We looked at pictures of children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. We wept and prayed together over the children and grandchildren who grieved these Godly women because they were far from God.
I will never forget the day when the call came that Mrs. Shelton did not wake up. I called her sitter and we cried together. She taught me how important it is to take the initiative and look outside the box for friends.
Friends don’t usually end up on our door steps all wrapped in a bow! Choose to proactively reach out to others. Come to church early and stay late to visit and get to know people at your church. It might not be easy, but get out of your comfort zone and see how God blesses you and uses you to bless someone!!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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