Every now and then, God convicts me of my "pet" sin. For several years, it was pride. I used to spend a lot of time worrying about what others thought of me; probably because I was a bit judgemental myself and figured everyone else was, too. Through a series of humbling experiences and learning to praying for people to see more of God and less of me, I have overcome my self-centered view of the world. This year, the message God has been sending is to quit complaining.
Over the past several months, we were working to plan a 50th wedding anniversary for my in-laws. In the process, I found myself complaining about people and situations related to the planning. One specific example was the anniversary photo. I had hoped to get it done early so it could be on the invitation, but my in-laws had other ideas. They wanted me to wait for their Rhododendron bush to bloom. We had to drop everything on one of our very busy weekends to drive 1.5 hours both ways to get it done. Needless to say I was complaining about the inconvenience of it all. When we arrived, they were so grateful, and explained why it was so meaningful to them. Even adding, "We love you for doing this for us." I immediately felt like a big jerk for not doing this with a servants heart.
But God didn't stop there. That night, I received an email about the hygiene project we were going to with Grace Children's Hospital and the specific information regarding the funds needed to include this in our Haiti trip. Shortly after reading the email, my mother-in-law called to tell me how grateful she was for the pictures and my time. She understood that I wouldn't let her pay for the photo shoot, so she decided to make a substantial donation for me to use for my trip to Haiti. Not only did God not smite me for my grumbling heart, but he blessed me through the person I was annoyed with. Kind of like the Israelites...
My trip to Haiti and the magnitude of the living conditions and lack of basic necessities may have cured me of my complaining -- I just pray the revelation God gave me doesn't fade in the midst of my busy schedule, convenient and comfort lifestyle.
For the record, my in-laws are wonderful, loving people who have gone out of their way to help us and do things with my kids more times than I can count. And the anniversary party was a great success that I would do all over again. Thank you Dean and Maxine for helping me see God through your actions even when I didn't deserve it.
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1 comment:
I found page 5.
As much as those moments are humbling, I know that I could use a new reminder everyday. I am grateful, however, that God knows that I would be bruised and battered if He slapped me up side the head every time I started being ungrateful.
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