Recently my husband and I having been
talking through ways we can best love our neighborhood and the people
around us. As we've been sifting through different ways to serve
others it has reminded me of times that others have served and loved
me well. Specifically, it has reminded me of the many lessons I
learned from my grandmother.
Grandmother would pick us up from
school every day, and kept us during the summers. She was constantly
teaching us, though I am sure she didn't always know it. Now 87 and
still kicking, she has way more friends than I do, and she is quite
the firecracker. But most importantly she continues to love the
people around her well.
I wanted to share with you some of the
lessons that I have learned from her, hopefully you too can learn
something from a pretty awesome lady.
Pray for the small things.
I remember one day when we had gone to
the Crumley Chapel walking track to walk some laps and wait on my
cousins school bus. Once we got back in the car Grandmother could
not find her keys. She immediately started praying out loud, “Oh
Lord, I'm old and cant remember where I put my keys. Please help me
find them.” A few moments later she found them and stopped to
thank God for the help.
There are many memories of her praying
for little things, like lost keys. I know to some this may seem
ridiculous, but it made a huge impact on me. It taught me that the
smallest worries in my life were important to the Lord, it taught me
that nothing was beyond His reach, and it taught me that I can go to
Him at any moment.
God cares for me in the little moments
and He cares for me in the big moments. Don't neglect calling on
God for help because you think that He doesn't care. He does care,
and you are important to Him.
Remember the Hymns
Sometimes Grandmother would
drag me to her choir practice. It was the worst. I guess I looked
pretty miserable during one particular practice, because she turned
to me and said “You need to pay attention to these hymns and
remember them. It will do you good when you get older.” At that
time I thought she was lying, but as I get older I've realized how
important it is to remember the hymns. There have been many days
where I didn't feel like I had the strength to open the scriptures
but I had the amazing words of Louisa M. R. Stead heavy on my heart:
Tis
so sweet to trust in Jesus,
And
to take Him at His word;
Just
to rest upon His promise,
And
to know, “Thus says the Lord!”
Jesus,
Jesus, how I trust Him!
How
I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus,
Jesus, precious Jesus!
O
for grace to trust Hm more!
Just
the other day My husband and I realized how much of what we know in
the Psalms comes from the songs we sing and listen to. Often, the
amazing thing about hymns is the help the provide to remember the
promises of God, and comfort they bring in the darkest of times.
Take In The Needy
Grandmother would pick up her four
grandkids from school everyday, and many days there were more than
just us. She couldn't stand to see a child walking home alone, and
when she did, she would pull over to give them a ride. Not only
would she take them home, but she would take them to church as well.
She was the first to jump into action if there was a need, even if
it didn't seem like a need to the rest of the world.
(Grandmother dressed up like a race car driver, and then showed up to the family reunion on a four wheeler. Her sponsor was sweet tea.)
-
Use Your Life To Serve Others
Once a week Grandmother would deliver
meals to those that could no longer drive or make meals for
themselves. Staying with Grandmother in the summer also meant we
would serve meals on wheels with her. She would give them their
lunch and visit with them for a while. Even as a child I could see
the joy that those people experienced just by having a visitor.
It may seem like an easy job, but
there were cases where it required a great deal of bravery. One
particular house had a fence you had to go through that held in two
german shepherds before getting to the front door. I remember
grandmother looking at me and saying, “Don't pay attention to the
dogs, just look straight ahead until we get inside.” She was
willing to walk through anything to serve others, even if it meant
an uncomfortable situation.
What a great picture for how
Christians are to serve those around us. It can be tempting to only
serve when the situation is easy and we're well within our comfort
zone, but Christ calls us to more. He calls us to step outside of
comfort, to take risk when it comes to serving, and sometimes He
calls us to walk straight through vicious german shepherds to share
His great love.
Don't Waste Your Body
Once a week my Grandmother would go to
a senior citizen exercise class offered at the church down the road
from her house. Now maybe that doesn't seem like a spiritual thing
at all, but I believe that it is. The Lord has given our bodies to
us as a precious gift. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Paul says, “Do
you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?
You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify
God in your body.” We are to glorify God in our bodies, and one
way we can do that is to take care of them. I'm not saying that you
have to hit the gym 5 days a week, I sure don't. Honestly, I think
it looks different for everyone. My grandmother strived to glorify
God with her body by walking around a gym twice and lifting a foam
ball abover her head. I encourage you to think about what that may
look like for you.
Encourage
The Gifts You See In Others
As
a believer it's vital that we seek to encourage those around us.
One way we can encourage others is by recognizing their gifts, and
helping them to strengthen and utilize those gifts to the fullest.
When I was younger my Grandmother would buy my countless art
supplies. She was constanly pushing me to be creative, she even
went as far as to display my terrible art in and around her house.
Once, she even bought me the 64 pack of crayola crayons... BEST DAY
EVER! I spent the rest of that day drawing pitures in order to
convince her (and myself) that my art had gotten exponentially
better because of my countless color choices.
Now,
I don't consider myself a great artist by any means, but I know that
with the little bit of skill I have I can use to glorify an
infinitely creative God. And that's the whole point - to glorify
God. We should want to glorify Him and we should want those around
us to glorify Him as well. Maybe you notice that your friend is a
great cook, or maybe they're great at sports. Encourage them to
pursue those passions as gifts and then use the gifts to advance the
kingdom of God.
Never
Neglect the Word
Like
clockwork, every morning my grandmother would go the the back room
in her house and read her Bible. She never neglected her time in the
scriptures, and that spoke louder than any words ever could. She
could have just told
us everyday that we needed to be reading our Bibles, but she didn't.
She showed
us the importance of spending time reading the Bible, and she showed
us that her first priority was to spend alone time with the Lord.
(Here she is trying to be the center of attention... just kidding, we made her lay across us.)
Never
Stop Exploring
Grandmother
was and is constantly exploring the world around her. She loves to
travel and has been doing so for years. She is not by any means a
rich woman that goes on lavish vacations, but she uses her money
wisely in a way that allows her to explore this world. That's
inspiring to me. We don't have a whole lot of money, but that
doesn't mean we can find an adventure and explore this world God has
given us.
Who are some people that have inspired you? What are some lessons that you learned from them?
