God of all Comfort

“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people!” says your God. (Isaiah 40:1)

This past week has been a roller coaster of sad or upsetting news, of prayer requests and weeping with those who weep.
While none of my own family suffered directly, people close to me or people close to people close to me seemed to be under an onslaught of tragic events.
There was a mother badly beaten, a daughter falsely accused of a serious crime, a father suffering a serious heart attack while out jogging, a brother killed in a car accident, a mother-in-law with a baffling medical condition scheduled for serious open heart surgery, an uncle dying of cancer, a young women in hospital with difficult pregnancy – the list goes on.

The beautiful thing that happened in the midst of all this is that an army of prayer warriors fell to their knees to call out to the One who alone can help in the time of need. Hearts swelled with love and concern for those in pain. Prayer requests flung out into the bogging/e-mail world were caught by outstretch hands and lifted up to heaven’s Throne.

And God heard and answered.
In several situations tears of sorrow are turning into tears of joy!
Sorrow shared is sorrow divided and joy shared is joy multiplied!!
How wonderful it is to celebrate ‘good news’ with those we also wept with.
Priorities slip easily into their rightful places; the things of this world seem mundane in the light of our shared trials, grief and joy.

I read these beautiful words today….

“For the Lord will comfort Zion,
he will comfort all her waste places;
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert likes the garden of the Lord,
Joy and gladness will be found in it; Thanksgiving and the voice of melody!”
(Is. 51:3)

When yielding to the God of comfort in a terrifying situation and finding that refuge of peace close to His heart, there is nothing sweeter than the presence of God that covers His child.
I have experienced it and I have heard countless others who attest to the same.
We are not promised roses without thorns in this life…. In fact we are promised tribulation and trials. But we also have the promise that God will take us through!

Annie Sherwood Hawks was born in New York in 1835.
From an early age her gift of writing poetry was evident and though she wrote hundreds of poems, there is only one hymn for which she is still well known.
As a young wife and mother, one day as she was busy with household tasks, she was filled with a sense of the nearness of God and she wondered how anyone could ever live without Him… either in joy or in pain. Poetic expression filled her mind and she wrote the words to the old hymn “I Need Thee Every Hour” which was set to music by Pastor Robert Lowry.
Annie was surprised by how deeply this hymn seemed to comfort so many people.
But sixteen years after she wrote the words, she found herself in the valley of sorrow following the death of her husband.
In her grief, she personally experienced the comforting power of the words she had been given that had comforted so many others and were now comforting her.

I need Thee ev’ry hour, most gracious Lord; no tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
I need Thee ev’ry hour, stay Thou near by; temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh.
I need Thee ev’ry hour, in joy or pain; come quickly and abide or life is vain.
I need Thee ev’ry hour, most Holy One; O make me thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.”

“I even I, am He who comforts you!” (Isaiah 51:12)

The Best Gift We Can Give

For my aunt’s 65th birthday her family gave her a huge surprise party !
My aunt is one of those rare people who has an endless supply of energy for doing good for others. Her gifts or gestures of thoughtfulness and practical caring ways were praised throughout the evening, and everyone had nothing but gratitude for the privilege of knowing her.
At one point during the celebration her daughter gave her a tribute. She went through a list of talents and gifts her mother had, and after each one she said regretfully, “I don’t have that talent!” We were all beginning to feel a little uncomfortable with her putting herself down, even though it was obviously not intended as self-pity, and we wanted to encourage her to look at her own strong points even if they weren’t the same as her mother’s..
When her well written speech was finished she was making her way back to her seat, when her father, a very humble man known for not being gifted in practical areas, went up to the mike and said, “Joanne, you know all those talents you didn’t get from your Mother? Well, you got them all from me!” His comment brought down the house !!

My uncle is a very successful business man but in practical matters he defers to others. He enjoys playing sports but does not excel. What I have always found so admirable in my uncle is his incredible attitude. Nothing delights him more than to see someone display a skill or talent or excel in some area of their life. He is the kind of cheer leader everyone would love to have in their corner. I have never heard him speak one word of envy , he is so busy admiring what someone else can do that it fails to occur to him to be envious. Even writing this I can hear his spontaneous laugh when someone says or does something clever. His face lights up and his sincere words of admiration are always heartwarming. He is appreciated , respected and loved by those who know him.

Is his attitude not one to emulate?

We live in such a competitive world . The rungs in the ladders of success are the backs of people who are used or passed over for personal gain or recognition.
We compare ourselves one against another and feel the other has the greater advantage. We are stagnated in our own little corners because we feel we cannot compete with someone else who does things so much better. We venture out only in areas where we feel we have some degree of competence. We play games , keep score and try to ‘win’ over someone else.

While competition can be good in that it spurs us on to try harder…. it can be discouraging when we feel we never ‘measure up’- if we constantly feel we are second rate or inferior to what we see as the established or expected norm.
I have yet to meet someone who did not have own talents or gifts or storehouse from which to bless or serve others, but even if you have not yet defined your area of expertise or believe that you are truly talent-free -- the very best gift is still yours to give. The gift of encouraging and praising others.
A little boy once came home from kindergarten very excited that he had been given a part to play in the school’s Christmas production. “And what is your part?” asked his mother. “I get to clap and cheer!” he answered proudly.
And truly is that not the best gift? To clap and cheer someone else’s accomplishments or efforts?
We all know how much we appreciate words of encouragement or a sincere pat on the back. Even in this, is it not ‘more blessed to give than to receive’? (Acts 20:35)
One thing I have learned – when I was young I believed that having ‘things’, achieving goals or accomplishments was what was important to my status in life, but now I know that it is not the ‘things’ you posses that determine the quality of your life but your relationships.

Scripture refers to the ‘church’ as the body of Christ – all believers together making up the whole. Can you imagine your hand being jealous of your foot ? Or your ear being jealous of your tongue?? It is an inconceivable concept, is it not?
How beautiful it would be if we could be that unconscious of comparison between one and another - that someone else’s accomplishments would cause us as much delight as though it were our own - because they truly are! …just as in your physical body, your hand rejoices in what your foot does and your eye over what your ear does.
II Cor. 10:12 says “For we dare not…. compare ourselves with some that…. measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise.” And Paul goes on to say “For not he that commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends!!” Is that not the highest praise we could ever hope for? To have the praise of God?

I once knew an elderly lady, Mrs. Marshall, who started coming to our bible study group. None of us knew why she came. Her communication skills were either lacking or she did not have knowledge on many subjects. She would come to the evening meeting , find a comfortable chair and promptly fall asleep to awaken in time to have a cup of coffee before going home. She wanted to host the bible study in her home and eagerly invited us, but her home was sadly lacking in every way. It was dirty beyond what you would care to imagine , the cups she set out for coffee did not even look washed and some of us being served the worst ones would discretely slide our way over to the sink and on pretence of looking out the window hide the quick motion of pouring our coffee down the sink. Yet she came and we tried to find a way for her to fit in, but we were really at a loss to find it.
Then one evening our group leader suggested that it would be nice to remember the birthdays of the people in our group and would someone in the group want to take the responsibility of making sure that everyone was acknowledged on their special day. Mrs. Marshall immediately volunteered. All of us thought, "well, there goes that idea."
But to our surprise and delight, this woman had found something she could do and on our respective birthday , in the mail, came a beautiful birthday card obviously carefully chosen. She never forgot a single birthday even though we were a large group of about 18-24. Even years after the group disbanded we would still get our birthday card from Mrs. Marshall. She has since ended her earthly life but I'm sure she had no idea how much she blessed us with her faithfulness. I have rarely felt so loved and the others in the group shared my sentiment!

We are EVERY ONE equipped to please God - to love Him and to love others.
The Lord has made each of us unique and specially gifted to excel where we stand in relationship to others and the best gift - and the most appreciated - is to encourage and bless others.

Two Sides of the Same Story

There is a verse in Prov. 18:17 that says ”The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him”. In other words ,the first story you hear sounds believable until you hear the other side.
How true !!

Years ago when I had a dressmaking business, I built up my clientele through word of mouth which meant that all my customers were somehow connected to one another. Just as people tend to confide in their hairdresser they also confide in their seamstress and so I would hear many personal stories.
I remember one story in particular that totally won my sympathy and I would have sworn in court for the validity of this woman’s story. Then one day I listened to another woman pour out her heart and again I had no doubt as to her sincerity, until suddenly something she said began to sound familiar and I realized that both these women were telling the same story but OH! how different the perspectives were!!
I resolved that from that day on that I would be careful to withhold my judgment until I had heard both sides of a story.

No lesson is ever learned perfectly, however, as I found out this week-end when I was reminded of how easy it is to misjudge.
We live in a gated community where visitor parking is limited and when we invite people over, parking is a problem – more so for us because our garage was converted into a sewing room and workshop by previous owners and our two vehicles are parked on our driveway. If our visitors park on the side of the street it makes it difficult for our neighbours to get in and out, as our complex streets are a little narrower than the public ones.
On Sunday we had our kids and another couple come over. It was just going to be for a short time so we thought it would be OK to park on the street. When our kids got out of their car, our neighbour “Bob” knocked on the window , gesturing and pointing at their car. Vic parked our car behind theirs and again he knocked on his window, gesturing and pointing, and waving his hand. Not wanting to cause problems Vic moved our car to the top of the complex in a visitor’s space. When he came back into the house, he told me that the neighbours were really upset about the cars. For the rest of the day I had a sick feeling in my stomach, wishing that we hadn’t tried to park the extra cars on the street. Vic and I talked about what we could do to make it up to our neighbours, and decided we would apologize the next day with a peace offering like a bottle of wine or flowers.

The next day I met “Joy”, my neighbour lady at the complex gate. It just so happened the gate wasn’t working and we both were stuck outside. At the first opportunity I said, “I’m so sorry about the cars yesterday…It was just going to be for a few minutes so we parked where we shouldn’t have.”
She started to laugh and told HER side of the story. They had seen our guests arriving and realizing we had a problem, Bob was simply indicating to us that we should use THEIR driveway to park on. Joy had said to Bob, “I don’t think Vic understands what you are trying to say !” He had even run outside to tell Vic but he was already moving our car and didn’t see him.
We had a good laugh about it and decided that next time Joy and I would do the communicating!!

So that situation ended happily but two days later we experienced another situation that left us feeling sick. We were just driving along in the midst of traffic in a busy section of town, when a vehicle pulled up in the lane beside us , honking, gesturing, screaming and swearing- a young man having a road rage tantrum. We have no idea why. We had not changed lanes or cut him off and we were behind other traffic so had no control over our speed. A couple of blocks later he pulled up again on the other side of us and continued raging. We did not react and thankfully, nothing happened … but I wonder.... What would his side of the story be??

I Cor. 13 is the well known love chapter. In verse 5 it says that love “does not behave rudely, does not seek its own is not provoked , thinks no evil.” That is sometimes easier said than done – especially in ‘reactions’.
It is so easy to judge by appearances or by how we are affected emotionally in a given situation. But if we can remember to just take a step back before we jump to conclusions and react; if we consider what the other person’s side of the story might be, we would avoid so much trouble. How many wars – between friends, spouses, family members, neighbours, nations – have been started by a simple misunderstanding?
Even if someone’s actions or words seem to be hurtful, our REACTION does not have to be.
How often we can stop the beginning of a world war by living out the wise advice offered in
Prov. 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Returning to Old Paths

I have a love of home and familiar things and I love things that have a story to tell, or that were valued by someone long ago.

I have a tablecloth that belonged to my husband’s grandmother who got it from her mother, so that puts it back to about 1870. It is in perfect condition, as you can see from the photo.
I think we value things that are old because we live in such a fast paced world where things are so constantly changing we have no sense of stability any more… and we desire something that will last !! We look back and recognize that the price we have paid to live in an instant gratification society has been a high one.

But I think perhaps the fascination with things that are old has a deeper significance. God has put into our hearts trigger points that alert us when something is wrong.

When a society turns away from God, people sense an emptiness… they know that something vital is missing and tend often to fill that emptiness with anything BUT God.

God knows that the only answer is for His people to return to a God who does not change and to go back to walking in His ways.
The Lord speaks to this in Jeremiah 6:16 . He says, “Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” (There is a sad epitaph that He adds when addressing His people living in Jeremiah’s time, “but they said, ‘We will not walk therein.’.”)

I love old books and years ago when I became dissatisfied with the shallow content of many of the books I found in the Christian bookstores, began to seek out and read books written by man and women who lived decades or hundreds of years ago. I was quickly hooked… but what unconsciously happened was that in immersing myself in old literature my standards changed and when I picked up current books I was shocked at the frivolousness of our modern mind set and how far we had strayed in our expression of Christianity both in life and word.

God knew that the tendency of man is always to regress so God warned us to check to see if we were still on the right path… or have we strayed from the ‘old paths’ because new ones held more alluring promises.

The label “Christian” has become almost a generic term, to the extreme of being the default if you aren’t anything else.
I once read a quote that really hit home, “When you take the name of Christian, God puts His reputation on the line.”
Isn’t that riveting? And what responsibility it calls us to -- to ‘live’ our profession , if we don’t , it is God’s reputation that suffers!!
As He says, “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through YOU!”

(Rom. 2:24)
So how important is it that we are diligent to guard the name of Christ if we profess to be Christians?

I re-read a section of one of my books that was written almost 2,000 years ago, (no, it wasn’t my bible) The author was a man we know very little about other than the fact that he called himself Mathetes and he was an early Christian , who may have been a disciple of St. Paul or one of the apostle’s co-workers. He writes with the same spirit. The article I have was written in 130 AD.

I present part of it here- for you to read for yourself how Mathetes describes the Christians of his time - and ask yourself whether Christians today still have that same reputation, or have we digressed somewhat…..( and remember he was not speaking about a few individuals , he was speaking of Christians as a whole.)

For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country , nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity.

The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life.

They dwell in their own countries , but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their faith as a land of strangers.

They marry, as do all others, they beget children, but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. they are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. they pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all.

They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things and yet abound in all; they are dishounored, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.
To sum up all in one word – what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world. The invisible soul is guarded by the visible body, and Christians are known indeed to be in the world, but their godliness remains invisible.

The flesh hates the soul, and wars against it, though itself suffering no injury, because it is prevented from enjoying pleasures, the world also hates the Christians, though in no wise injured, because they abjure pleasures. The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and loves also the members; Christians likewise love those that hate them. The soul is imprisoned in the body, yet preserves that very body, and Christians are confined in the world as in a prison and yet they are the preservers of the world. The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible bodies, looking for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens. The soul, when but ill-provided with food and drink, becomes better, in like manner , the Christians, though subjected day by day to punishment, increase the more in number. God has assigned them this illustrious position, which it were unlawful for them to forsake !

Wouldn’t it be nice if Christians could be spoken of in the same way today ?? Would the world be a different place?
What is the point I am trying to make? To exhort you and me to recognize that how the people in our own little spheres of influence speak about Christ is determined by how we personally represent Him. To check our ‘road map’ to make sure we are still on the ‘old paths’, and to strive to make ( John 1:6) a reality in our daily walk.
“He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself so to walk, even as He walked.”
and not to forget that our strength to do so lies simply in ‘abiding in him’….
“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He shall appear , we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at his coming.”
I John 2:18

Happy Valentine's Day

What a perfect day to obey God’s commandment to “love one another !”
Valentine’s Day – a day when all around the world people are thinking about LOVE ! Would the world not be a better place if it were Valentine’s Day every day of the year ?
But as Christians serving the God of Love – every day IS a day to celebrate love - His love for us and our love for Him and one another.

I did a bit of research involving the origin of St. Valentine’s Day and while there are some legends and contradictions surrounding the day I found the following to be fairly reliable information.
St. Valentine died in 270 AD, his birth date is not known .
He lived in Rome under the rule of the emperor Claudius II, who was also known as Claudius the Cruel. Involved in many bloody and unpopular crusades, Claudius had difficulty in recruiting enough men to join his armies. Deciding it was because men did not want to leave their wives and children, he simply outlawed marriage .
St. Valentine, a devote Christian , felt the injustice of the decree and dared to continue marrying people, performing the ceremonies in secret. He also aided the Christian martyrs who suffered under Claudius’ rule.
His kind deeds attracted the attention of Claudius the Cruel who had him arrested, tortured and because he refused to deny his faith sentenced him to death.
In prison, Valentine befriended and fell in love with the jailor’s daughter and on the eve of his execution he wrote her a note signed , ‘from your Valentine’.
He was executed on February the 14th.
In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno who was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage.
The Christian pastors in Rome tried to do away with this pagan custom and in 496 AD , February 14th was set aside to honor St. Valentine.
Valentine cards were commercialized in the 1800’s and sending cards on Feb. 14th has become a well established tradition along with chocolate , flowers and gifts.

On the subject of love from the Book of Books………

The very first time ‘love’ is mentioned in the Bible is in the love story of Jacob and Rachael. Jacob , having fallen in love with his boss’s daughter, Rachael, asked her father to give her to him as his wife. He served Laban for 7 years for her hand in marriage, then when Laban tricked him into marrying Leah, had to work another seven for Rachael. But the scripture says that these seven years “seemed unto him but a few days, for the love that he had for her.” ( Gen. 29:20)
Would Rachael not have loved that declaration in a Valentine’s card?

There is an example of extraordinary love in Ex. 21:5. When a man was sold into slavery to a Hebrew, the law was that after six years he had to be given his freedom. If he entered his service as a single man , he went out single , which meant that if his master had given him a wife who bore him children, the wife and children remained the property of the master. But if the slave loved his wife and children more than he did his freedom, he could declare his love before a judge and his master would pierce his ear as a sign that henceforth he was serving his master not out of duty but out of love .

Romans 13:8 tells us that LOVE is a debt we owe to each other. We are admonished to owe no man anything --- except love --- a debt, which we will never be able to pay in full !!!

And who does not love John 3:16 , the best love story of all !!!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him , should not perish but have everlasting life.”

“Beloved, if God so loved us.. we ought to love one another!”
( I John 4:11)

Interconnected

In the wee hours of yesterday morning I discovered two night prowlers… and since I also stand guilty by association ….I guess that makes three of us !
We were each in our own homes but we were ‘connected’. We were all up at 3:00 am. and all of us were at our computers. One girl, I have never met but we have connected through our blogs; the other one was an old childhood friend that I have stayed in contact with through e-mail.
None of us saw each other, none of us spoke to each other… and yet I was able to discover what they were doing. One posted a comment on my blog, the other sent me an e-mail both displaying times sent.
Have you ever considered how much of new technology is focused on making it easier to be interconnected, not only with family and friends but with people we would otherwise never know? The whole world is truly becoming one ‘neighbourhood’.
Just to put things in perspective ,I was six years old when I was shown a strange black thing on the wall in my grandparents’ house that would allow me to talk to someone I could not see. What a long way we have come since then !!!

My husband heard a report on TV yesterday that someone compiling information on 911 found that when he mapped out where the bodies were, most of them were found in groups. The finding surprised him !
Man was created to be social…. babies that are not spoken to or held, simply die.
Interconnectedness – that was God’s idea…. “It is not good for man to be alone!”
We were created for fellowship… with God and with each other. There is purpose and pleasure in being connected.
Think of your most treasured memories… do they not involve other people?

We all value the people who are constant in our life… family and friends… but have you ever considered that everyone who touches your life changes you in some way? As you also change those you touch throughout each day ? Even the people who you may only meet once. Our life journey is one of movement – changing and building – one moment at a time. I will never pass by this moment again, but I take something of this moment with me into the next.

Just as a butterfly flapping his wings in Africa begins the weather pattern that causes the storms we experience here, so also a seemingly insignificant interaction with someone you met can change far more than you would ever imagine. I once read of a study that followed the ripple effect started by one person smiling at a stranger.

Life is busy and time is of the essence… our 'to-do' list at the end of a day is still longer than our ‘done’ list…. and so we focus on the big picture and miss the small things that are often the most important.

Let me illustrate with a personal experience.

I had just spent a hectic day at work and was anxious to get home where I still had a list of things to do before I could relax. But even before I could go home I had to stop at our bank. I waited impatiently in line and finally made it to the teller. The bank teller did not even look at me and was curt and impolite. My immediate thought reaction was….”I’ve had a hard day and I am in a hurry… you could at least be courteous doing your job.. I shouldn’t have to come in here and put up with a rude employee!”
Then I caught myself and prayed, “Lord, help me not to react…. but give me Your wisdom to respond with Your love.”
A thought crossed my mind and I spoke it out without thinking….. I said to the girl, “Do you have a headache?” For the first time she looked at me and said, “Oh, I have had such a headache all day !” I sympathized with her and we talked for a couple of minutes as she finished my transactions…. I watched the tension in her face ease and we even shared a laugh. As I was leaving the bank, I turned back to see her greet the next customer in line with a smile.

We so easily forget what power we have – especially as Christians – to speak into someone’s life. It may seem insignificant, it may be only a smile, or a kind word , a hug, or a quick helping hand, or an e-mail, but we can make a difference in someone’s day. And in the paradox that is our reality today in a world increasingly rushed and stressed, we are also becoming increasingly interconnected. We have so many opportunities to pause a moment here and there in our busy days to reach out to each other and to a lost and hurting world --- every man our neighbor.

Galatioans 5:14
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Transformed !

In the early eighties I was working as head of the alteration department for Eatons.
A woman, by the name of Loretta( not her real name) , worked in one of the other departments in the store. She was a woman devoid of any natural beauty. She was not thin, she was boney !! Her facial features were sharp and angular with a narrow chin jutting out to a point. Her long nose curved down almost touching her thin lips. Her hard to control hair was fine and thin, permed to a dry frizz and dyed an unnatural blonde . Her voice was irritating and high pitched, and her cackling laugh would turn heads in her direction. She had lived a hard life and it showed.

One day I was sitting in the staff room diagonally across the table from her. As I idly watched her conversing , listening to her coarse language , watching the smoke curl from her cigarette, a strong dislike rose up in my heart. As a Christian , I knew I was called to love everyone, but when it came to Loretta - I found it very difficult to find it in my heart to even try.I felt guilty for my strong negative emotions but I tried to justify them by telling myself that it was an honest judgment on my part… I was just hating sin and the effects of sin.
I put Loretta and my feelings about her out of my mind.

At that time I was in the habit of rising early enough so that I could have some time to read my bible and pray before I went to work.
One Saturday morning I was on my knees beside the living room sofa , bringing to God the concerns on my heart. Since I had heard Amy Grant’s song “My Father’s Eyes” my prayer had been that God would teach me to see people as He saw them. And in that morning prayer my heart’s cry was repeated , “Lord, let me see people as You see them….”
Immediately as the words were spoken in prayer….. there flashed into my mind a dream that I had dreamed that night. I had had no recollection of any dream until that precise moment.

I had dreamed that I was sitting in the staff room alone, except for one other person. Loretta. She was sitting on the sofa using the staff room phone . As I sat watching her a wondrous thing happened before my eyes - a soft, heavenly light shone down over her, causing her hair to look like spun gold, her features softened and her countenance changed , a beautiful smile crossed her face and I thought in surprise …. “ Why, she is beautiful !”
In the flash of time that I remembered my dream the Lord spoke to me and said, “That is how I see her !”
I wept and asked his forgiveness for judging her so harshly , and prayed that I could show her His love.

I never forgot what the Lord taught me…. It is not that God overlooks people’s sin or that He wants us to accept people as they are ! No, rather what He wants is that we see with His eyes, seeing past their sin and human frailties, recognizing what God could do in them and through them.
Every human being is offered an invitation to become a citizen of God’s Kingdom,… every person is offered the undeserved merit of God’s forgiveness, everyone has the potential to be beautiful in God’s sight.
He can take the vilest sinner and shine His glory through them. We need to see people - not for what they are… but for what they can be !! How better to convince them of God’s love for them than to show them God’s love for them through us.

II Corinthians 3:18 “But we all….. beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory..."