BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS

 KINDNESS . LOVE . PEACE

Where do we get kindness from? Where do we get love from? Where do we get peace from? We could say they originate in us, but the answer is incomplete. We could say they just are, but the answer is incomplete.

We could say they originate in God, then we'd have the true answer.

Love, kindness, peace speak their truth wherever they may be found. Those whose lives are full of love, kindness, and peace show remarkable facility for caring, giving, and gentleness. I love how these individuals demonstrate in their beings (without saying it) their walk with God.

My grandma walked with God. Her very essence exuded love, kindness, and peace. In the midst of distress, sorrow and suffering Grandma's inner light still continued to glow. She had worries, yes, but the Source of peacefulness lived within her, the light of life, the Lord Jesus.

Grandma trusted God, and He took care of her.

What made my grandma into the faithful servant she became? I assume it was because she chose to trust in God. She also had a dear neighbor friend. They prayed together and supported each other, especially when the burdens were heaviest.

Grandma prayed and talked to God as she gardened. She told me it was while she was gardening that she felt closest to God. Her spiritual garden grew at the same time. In it she cultivated kindness, love, and peace. Her garden grew as it was nurtured by her Father God and her own careful tending. Over the years she harvested crop after crop of kindness, love, and peace. All who knew her were blessed when they were in her presence.

Like Grandma, we all can grow in kindness, love, and peace and harvest a bumper crop of blessings.

WHAT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE

 

WHAT HAPPENED

I stepped away from teaching seven years ago. I stepped away from teaching children in church three years ago. I stepped away from leading women's ministry two years ago. In each case there were compelling reasons. None were done without a great deal of consideration and agony.

When you step away from something you love, it leaves a void, an emptiness. You can question whether anyone cares. Doubt has colored your self assessment. But this is a wrong way of thinking.

You eventually come to the realization that it doesn't really matter what people think. You did what seemed wise and best according to the circumstances. You sought God's help and leading and then pursued the next best thing.

WHAT'S NEXT

You know, it is not wrong to miss what used to be. You gave a lot of yourself, you sweat the hard stuff, you gave and gave, you cared and helped. Those were all good things, and they mattered. But now life is different. Nothing ever stays the same. You have to work at what is now your new normal. This is right thinking.

We all have a responsibility to fulfill our calling, whatever that may be. Situations that stretch us serve as a function to keep us on track. In our humanness it can seem like too much for us to handle. I look back and see how it has a domino effect; one thing leads to another. Each new hill to climb brings its own perspective, an expanding outlook, a greater understanding. We as people are ever-growing, ever-learning, ever-evolving. That is the way it should be.

Be at peace.