A WORD FOR TODAY, August 5, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, August 5, 2021
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” 1 John 4:7-12, WEB
I spent a few days at the coast. It wasn’t a beachy area, but the town has a lovely waterfront. There is a marina, a decommissioned World War II aircraft carrier, and the promise of dolphins in the bay. There are plenty of seagulls, and lots of people to watch. The waterfront includes some informational plaques and some lovely gazebos. There is even a memorial to a famous local. Though I was there for a conference, but I knew I had to spend some time on the waterfront, especially at sunrise. I love to take sunrise photos.
We are in a bit of a rainy weather pattern around Texas, so I wasn’t sure there would be much of a sunrise. I checked the radar Tuesday morning and the cloud cover seemed like it might allow an opportunity for some photos. I rushed to get dressed so I could be sitting on the waterfront by 6:53, which was when the upper rim of the sun appears on the horizon. I could tell that it wouldn’t be a spectacular sunrise with lots of color, but the clouds were very interesting, so I sat on one of the many benches and waited for the show.
There were people around, runners getting in their morning workout, but it was quiet and peaceful. After awhile a woman with two dogs walked up and sat on the bench next to the one I was sitting on. There were dozens of other benches and she picked the one that was closest to mine. Of course I didn’t mind, but I wondered why someone might choose to do their quiet time close to someone else when there were plenty of other choices.
Eventually I asked her a question about the dolphins, which began a lovely conversation with Beena, an ER nurse who lives in the town. As it turned out, the benches had memorial plaques placed by those who sponsored the benches in honor of deceased loved ones. The bench on which Beena sat was her friend David’s bench. She wasn’t the sponsor, but he was someone she knew and she spent time each morning with him. She talked to him, cried with him, and though he was not physically present, he was present in her heart. As an ER nurse through the pandemic, she’s had many reasons to cry. It has been cleansing to her. It isn’t always easy to share our deepest thoughts with others; she has found a way to do so that gives her comfort. I don’t know if the one truly listening and comforting her was Jesus Christ, but I am sure He was.
We talked a little about God and she knew I was there at a Christian conference. I told her I wrote devotions. I mentioned Jesus, and though she didn’t reject, she embraced the idea of a more universal deity that paints the sky beautiful colors. Her life hasn’t been easy, she has struggled with relationships, she has seen things that would make any of us cry. She has a giving heart, making breakfast for some of the homeless who sleep on the waterfront every night. I’m not sure I was the best witness for Jesus; I’m not sure I planted any seeds that will grow into living faith in Christ. I do know that I gave her a chance to pour out her soul to a real heart and pair of ears, once brief moment of connection. It was a holy encounter. It didn’t hurt that she had the most adorable two dogs with her. I don’t know what will happen to Beena, but I do know that God can use the most imperfect people to do His work in the world. Perhaps my task was not the plant the seed, but to plow the field.
A long time ago I was reading through the parable of the sower, where the man cast seed on the path, in the stones, in the thorns, and on the good soil, I realized that it is important to prepare the soil. We never know what part of the process we are accomplishing when we encounter someone who needs Jesus. Are we the sower? Are we the water? Are we the sunshine? Are we the one who is blessed with being the harvester? Whatever our task, we are reminded that it is God who causes faith to happen. The best for which we can hope is that God’s love is visible in our lives in a way that will draw our neighbors into His heart so that they will experience His presence in a very real way. We do that by responding to those divine appointments with grace and hope.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.
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