If You Were A Decoration: Celebrating the beauty of our differences

 

God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings. Are you called to preach? Then preach as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies so that God will be glorified through Jesus Christ—to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

—1 Peter 4:10-11 

As we were winding down our First Place 4 Health virtual session, our leader Annie explained her idea for our celebration class, “I thought it would be nice to celebrate each other. I’d like to compile statements from each member about each other member to share in our class…thoughts of how you have been touched, inspired, encouraged, what makes them special, or what God given talent you see in them. I thought this would be fun and heartwarming for our group.”

In keeping with our usual discipline, Annie chose a Scripture for us to memorize this final week of the session, 1 Thessalonians 5:11: “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”

I began typing my thoughts about each of the eleven women when an idea sparked. Could I do something more? What about a poem for each one?

Pumpkin Surprise: Bearing Fruit in Season

 

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

—Galatians 6:9

When my daughter and family came to visit last month, my son-in-law trimmed a bush for me. He discarded the debris at the edge of the yard and returned with two baby pumpkins. Imagine my surprise when I saw them. How did they get there?  

Then I remembered. Last year when preparing for Christmas, I removed my doorstep pumpkins and placed them there, where I normally deposit yard clippings. Apparently, they replanted themselves. 

From their perch on the deck railing, the fun-size gourds seemed to grin at me like one who has successfully pulled off a surprise party. 

Their unexpected appearance spoke, Keep doing what you normally do and when you least expect it, you will reap a harvest. 

I can become weary in my prayer life, having prayed the same prayers for decades without desired results. I can become weary in my weight loss journey when the number on the scale seems stuck. I can become weary in this pandemic-induced new way of teaching—new way of life. But God’s Word encourages me. 

Psalm 1 says, “Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season” (vs. 1 – 3a). 

Keep doing what you normally do. Keep praying, meditating, and making wise choices. Continue exercising your faith and doing the good you know to do. God hears your heart; He sees your faithfulness and hard work. In due season, you will reap a bountiful blessing. 

Others see your normal as well. Even though you are unaware, you are spreading seeds of hope. 

At the end of my family’s visit, I passed on the pint-size pumpkins to my grandsons to take home. As they drove away, I prayed they took away more. 

Lord, thank You for all the ways You bless and speak to me. May I too bless others with my words and deeds. May I leave a legacy of faith that, in season, reproduces in the lives of others. Amen.