We all have the opportunity to share the light of Christ with those around us.

When I began working at my current job, I met a sweet lady on the maintenance staff. She came by my office and introduced herself and welcomed me aboard. I learned that she begins her workday every morning at 5:00 AM and I was touched by her kindness and happy attitude with that early start.

I’ve been working here for close to a year now and almost every day, she goes out of her way to say hello. There’s a quiet joy that radiates from her and I always look forward to our short chats.

Yesterday, when we were talking about some bad weather that thankfully, didn’t materialize for us, she said that she was praying on the way to work that it wouldn’t hit until she arrived safely.

I smiled and told her I had prayed about the weather that morning too.

I thought about our conversation after she left. I knew she was a Christian before she talked about prayer. How did I know? It’s the simple way she carries herself and the joy that she exudes. She never had to say a word. She didn’t have to quote scripture or tell me where she went to church. She just acts differently than other people.

She carries a light and walks the walk that we are all called to.

I was struck how she didn’t pray that we wouldn’t get the bad weather. She prayed for her safe passage.

I’ll have to admit that I don’t often pray for my safe passage. I pray for the storm to go away. But, what if God plans on using the storm to either teach me faith or others faith through me? Praying for God’s will over my own is not easy and if I’m honest, I fail more than I succeed, yet I am called to work towards that goal every morning when I wake up.

 Thankfully, His mercies are new every morning.

I often pray that others see God’s light through me and that He shows me Himself during my day. I don’t know why I am continually surprised when He comes through and teaches me a lesson in the process.

My sweet coworker reminded me to shine the light of Christ wherever I am and that our God doesn’t have to stop the storm in order to give us safe passage. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊 

Just because we can’t see evidence of growth, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.

One morning this week, I woke up to a cold, dreary, rainy day. The time had just changed over the weekend, so it was really dark out. I sat at my kitchen table eating my breakfast listening to the pouring rain, seriously wishing I didn’t have to go to work.

I drove to work more slowly than usual and then trudged to my building, wearing rainboots, a raincoat and carrying an umbrella. When I arrived at my office, I heard a buzz on my phone indicating a text message.

It was a message from a dear friend that read: “Good morning sweet friend. Enjoy your rainy day. It may not be the sunrise that we seek, but God has a plan for everyday and this one is just as beautiful as all other mornings.”

I smiled and said a prayer of thanks for her and then texted her back telling her she had no idea how much I needed to hear that. I marveled at the Holy Spirit at work in her, that prompted her to reach out and send a word of encouragement.

The next day was stunningly beautiful and warm, literally the perfect spring day. When I took a walk at lunch time, I couldn’t believe the difference. Of course, I know that we are talking about typical spring time weather, but it was hard to even dream of the beauty that I was witnessing during the ugly of the day before.

As I kept walking, I noticed all of the trees and shrubs bursting in bloom and thought about how that rainy day helped to feed those blooms. Those trees needed that rain.

Yes, my friend had been right, God did have a plan for that day, even if I couldn’t appreciate it at the time.

Then I came upon a very old tree without one bloom. To the casual observer, it looked dead, but it wasn’t. That tree was still dormant and hadn’t awaken yet. The fact that it wasn’t blooming didn’t mean that work and growth wasn’t going on beneath the roots and bark, even if there wasn’t outward growth to show it.  

God was at work on this tree just as He was on the ones already in full bloom. His timing for this tree was simply different, but no less intentional.

I thought about His timing as the day went on. I thought about how everyone loves beautiful warm, sunny, days surrounded by blooming thriving trees, and people, if we are honest, but we sometimes forget how much work goes on behind the scenes of that beauty. 

Make no mistake, God is always at work with a plan for every day, even when we can’t see it, in nature, in the people around us and in us. A text from a friend reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

We are called to bloom in every season.

This week was the official beginning of Lent for those who observe it. Lent is not Biblical, but has been observed in some form, in various churches, for over a thousand years. It’s meant to be a time of self-denial, but perhaps more importantly, a time of self-reflection.  

As I type this, we have been in an international pandemic for over two years now. Many of us feel like we have been in a never-ending phase of self-denial. Many have spent a lot of time in self-reflection and have made positive changes. Others have retreated to their homes, embracing the safety there, choosing to connect electronically. We want to work from home and worship from home. We have shunned people who aggravate us or who are different from us, but in the process, we have also shunned community. 

Inflation is out of control and simply shopping for groceries or filling the car up with gas, can make the hardiest soul a little squeamish. Just when we seemed to be emerging from the ongoing pandemic woes, Russia elected to start a war with its neighbors and created worldwide instability. 

As I was putting away laundry last week and prayerfully thinking about world turmoil in the context of Lent, I happened to see a large bloom on my Christmas Cactus that is apparently blissfully unaware that it’s March. It made me smile and as I drew closer, I was delighted to find tiny buds all over it. I felt like the Holy Spirit was sending a message. 

The miracle of Jesus’ birth is still just as beautiful and important in March as it was in December. His birth, life, death, and resurrection know no season, even though we try to fit them neatly on our calendars. They are all constant truth and therefore should be constant comfort to all who walk with Him and an ongoing reason to bloom and share that hope with others. 

We all wish that the dark days would finally be behind us, that Covid will be a thing of the past and that people could all just get along, but that is not for us to decide. 

Yet, we do have a decision to make in the midst of the darkness.  

We can choose to let the light of Christ shine through us, remembering that the darker the days are, the brighter our light is and perhaps this year, that’s the call of the Lenten season, the call to shine. 

A March blooming Christmas Cactus reminded me to bloom and shine regardless of the season. Perhaps you needed reminding too. 

Have an awesome day! 

Wendy 🙂

When we truly seek Jesus, we will find Him.

I’ve been participating in an online Bible study. We have been reading one chapter a day in the Gospel of John. One day last week, we got to chapter twenty. That’s the chapter where Mary Magdalene, Peter and John go to the tomb and find it empty. This is a very familiar passage to most Christians, but this time when I read it, Mary’s experience really stuck with me.

She was the first one to the tomb, the first to realize He wasn’t there. When she saw He wasn’t there, the text says she ran to tell Peter and John. In response to her news, they ran to the tomb. The scriptures say both disciples went inside and saw His grave clothes and they believed and then went back to where they were staying.

The two disciple simply went back to where they were staying? They saw that Jesus was gone and went home? Didn’t they have questions? Were they in shock? Was His absence just too much for them to deal with in that moment?

But, Mary stayed. Overcome with grief, she didn’t run from it. She stayed right there, right where she thought Jesus should be and cried. I picture her sobbing at this point. I know I would be, but her open honest show of grief resulted in a direct response from heaven.

“She looked inside the tomb again and found two angles there, they asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” John 20:13

Then she turned and stood face-to-face with the Risen Jesus, but did not recognize Him.

“Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” John 20:15

I find this to be a bold statement for a grieving woman, alone at a tomb, but Mary was steadfast and fearless in her search for Jesus. She was willing to go get his body herself. Whatever it took, she would find Jesus.

And her stubborn faith was rewarded. When Jesus called her name, she knew it was Him and her mourning immediately became joy.

Mary’s story reminds me that we all will at some point, find ourselves grieving on this side of eternity and we have a choice how we will respond. We can deal with it by running from it, or pretending it doesn’t exist, or attempting to numb it by some chemical means, or we can seek Jesus and the peace that only He can give us.

When the world tells us that Jesus doesn’t care about us, if we remain stubborn and steadfast like Mary, He will show up and meet us right where we are, right in the middle of whatever we are dealing with and He will call our name.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂