Where has God placed you?
As I rushed out the door and took a final sip of coffee, (for I knew I would need all the help I could get today) a message came up on my phone, “Could you bring…… with you when you come.” Two minutes later and I would have already left the house. So, I turned around, grabbed the item needed and slammed the door shut. ‘Huge schedule today’, I thought, and I was not wrong.
I ran into the shops to grab all the stuff for hospitality that I would need this morning. Then drove (under the speed limit I might add) to the office to set up everything. Then I cleaned up the leaves and mess outside in the garden, for we had had bad storms for a few days and lots of rubbish had blown in. I checked the toilets, toilet rolls, bins….
An hour later, after cleaning up the kitchen, I acknowledged to my Son and Daughter-in-law that I would be ready shortly to swap cars, due to the children needing car seats. Bruce and I were babysitting three of their children while they went to the football. It was going to be easy because we were doing it at their house, where they have all the kids toys etc. At my house currently I have no games or toys because we have packed everything away while renting and building.
So, we finally lock up the offices and Mackenzie starts wailing, “I can’t find my Unicorn!” “Where did you leave it?” “In the kids’ room in the locked offices.” So, I unlock the offices to find this toy. I had forgotten how many times this had happened with little children over the years. I did not forget, though, to do a toilet stop before getting everyone into the car.
The youngest one, Abigail, who is just 2, often still has an afternoon sleep but her Mum did not want her to sleep very long. Mums know that that can be disastrous if they sleep toooooo long and won’t go to bed at the normal bedtime. But they had not had lunch yet. So, Bruce and I decided to go to McDonalds as a treat for lunch, then if she fell asleep in the car driving to their house that would be ok. Yes, Bruce was babysitting with me. Easy… or so I thought.
As we were unpacking the children from the car, Abigail woke up as she was being moved. Not much sleep but she would not go back down. Ah well – at least she would sleep for Mum really well that night. The other two children asked for me to play some games with them. After trying to talk to Emmett who had decided to be upset about not wanting to play what his sister was playing, I called upon Bruce to go and see if he could play with him. Meanwhile I was coloring in with Mackenzie and Abigail.
Bruce and Emmett ended up playing fuse ball. Emmett was changing the rules on Bruce, to his own advantage, every few games and Bruce was getting very amused. In code, Bruce shared with me that “he’s only 3 but very cluey and wants to win every time.” It was hilarious because Emmett pipes up, “I’m 4!”
After fixing a few “wars” over the crayons and pencils the girls were using and fighting over I looked around the room. Bruce with one of his grandsons playing and sharing with him…..
Me with two of my granddaughters teaching them to share and enjoy each other. Teaching them not to yell but to share with a calm demeanor, encouraging them to speak well of each other. Trying to encourage the younger one to speak a little quieter – for as my Son said – she has only ONE VOLUME!
This is where I am HOLY. It may seem ridiculous, but this is the thought that went through my mind. I have been put into a position of having grandchildren. Of babysitting them from time to time. Some of my blessings come from this.
Firstly, I become ‘holy-er’ in disposition, attitude, love, giving, self-control, when I say yes to caring for them, giving time to their parents for themselves……
I become holy-er when I guard them, teach them, share with them, LOVE them.
I become holy-er when I give my time away.
We are encouraged in 1 Peter:
“…As he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct;for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:15-16 NRSV
I’m not saying I got it all right that day, but I was encouraged to be holy-er in whatever place, position God puts me in, or I put myself in.
Where can you be HOLY-ER today?
Share with us some stories or situations that spoke to you about being HOLY-ER.
May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’
Love
Rosemary
Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups. If you would like more information please click HERE.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Where has God placed you? Do you feel you can be holy in that place?
Where can you give your time away to help others?
5 Comments
Vicki Brown
Thanks for this. I work with school age children everyday and I try to be holy-er when I speak to each of them. I’m with a lot of behaviours and I find myself praying for patience right then and there.
Valerie Lack
Thank you for sharing your amazing day. Also, thank you for putting holiness into perspective. Sometimes the day to day things seem far from holy. I haven’t ever thought about interacting with other people as being holy.
Carla Villafana
Hello Rosemary. What a lovely story, sharing your time with your grand children. I sure wish I could do the same.
Any way, this afternoon I was getting a few groceries realizing I need to be careful with my money until month end. But as I headed to the checkout I also thought that there are people who cannot wait for month end to eat. Our store has special $10 and $15 bags of groceries that are already packed up. We can buy them and the store delivers them to needy folks. SO… I bought a $10 one as my money was low. But at the till I felt confident that God was pleased with me and I need not worry about getting to my month end. All will be well. This is one of those times I think I felt a tiny bit “holy-er” as you put it.
Thanks to you and Bruce my days are now filled with what I call “God Moments”.
Joanne M
Thanks for sharing Carla , my mum always says ‘you can never outdo God in generosity’ which is so true. Having given when you are on a tight budget, I am sure You will manage financially to the month end and maybe even find you have a tiny bit of money left over, for as another dear friend says ‘God gives us what we need and sometimes a little bit extra” 😊 .
Valerie simms
Thank you for sharing your busy day with Bruce and your grandchildren with us, and connecting this day with how you can be holier! May I just quickly share an incident that caught me by surprise! I was coming home and I was getting in my lift with another young man. Suddenly I noticed a little girl who looked familiar, not more than three, all by herself in the lift! She took one look at us and began to cry and yell at the top of her voice. I could make out that she was calling for her Mum. The young man had pressed the number for his floor after mine. But the lift arrived at his floor first which was two floors above mine! All the while we were trying to calm the little girl, the more she cried and shouted! She then turned her back towards us, her head pressed into the corner and cried and yelled even more for her Mum. After the young man left, there was nothing I could say to console her. I didn’t want to go any nearer to her, as I was afraid she would panic even more! So I had this idea that her Mum may have been coming out of her car from the lower basement, and the child may have quickly run into the lift with the doors open. As I pressed for the lift to come up to where I was waiting with this young man, the lift doors could have quickly shut and brought her up to our level. so I pressed the button for the lower basement and there was no one to be seen! The little girl became even more upset! I then began to shout myself, “Mum where are you? Are you here?!” While the little girl was wailing, all of a sudden I hear a man shouting and banging loudly upon what seemed to be above me. So I quickly pressed the upper basement level. as the doors opened I recognized the man. He was our neighbour! This little girl is his daughter! He had quite a few bags and a small barbeque to carry and his older son beside him. He gave his daughter a long reassuring kiss and spoke to her gently in another language!
Afterwards happy to be in my quiet apartment I spoke to my son about the ordeal. I remember mentioning that this little girl more than likely didn’t understand a word that I was saying! Then later the thought came into my mind. What would happen if I invited the mother with her little daughter over to our apartment to get the little girl acquainted with us all and to play with our cat? So that way she would not have to be so upset ever again if she is alone accidently in the lift with one of us. And just maybe she might learn to say a few Aussie words!
Could this be called trying to be holy ? May the Lord keep blessing you Rosemary, Bruce and all your family. Especially your grandchildren. May be one day I might have a grandchild too… Perhaps this incident is to prepare me!