Reason #652
Today was my last Saturday to work...ever...hopefully! It was hard getting out of bed and seeing Aaron and Scout soundly sleeping, so I was really glad I won't have to do that again. Thankfully, it was just a half day of work and I could come home and nap afterwards.
It was kind of a bittersweet thing today, being my last Saturday to work. I hadn't worked Saturdays since college until I started this job. And truth be told, once a month isn't terrible. But when you only have one free day a week, Saturdays become very cherished days. Anyway, I've gotten to know a lot of familiar faces over the past 11 months. I see a lot of the same people every week, and I wondered if they would miss me. I know that's kind of selfish to think that way, but I wondered how many people would notice or even ask. One of my co-workers transitioned into a new position about 4 months ago, and people are still asking about him. And so I wondered if it would be the same with me.
Here's the thing I think about quite often, am I making a difference in this world? I mean really, does my presence matter? I'm not making huge contributions to society. I highly doubt that will ever happen. I'm not going to cure someone of a disease, come up with a financial fix, or win the Nobel Peace prize. I'm not going to invent some life changing product or find a solution to world hunger. I'm finding I do a really good job of living a simple, quiet life. I do a good job of keeping to myself, staying in my bubble, and taking care of my business. And yet there's this resounding voice that's always haunting me as I wonder if I ever have or ever would change anyone's life for the good.
I love the Lord, you know that. The people I go to church with know that. My family and friends know I love the Lord, and so do the people on Facebook. If you've read any of my blog posts, hopefully you've picked up on that fact, but I wonder how many people on a daily basis know that I love the Lord. Because I can talk all day long about God's goodness to someone else who knows of it as well as I do, but I often wonder why I don't talk about it with people who are clueless about it. Why don't I mention the Lord in my conversations? I tell people about my dog all the time because I think she's the greatest pet on the face of this planet, so why is it that I don't talk to them about my God all the time because He's the one who created this planet? When they tell me about their struggles, I just shake my head in sympathy rather than offering them hope. When I pick up on the fact that they're lost, why don't I try to help them get found?
There's an old song by Joy Williams that says, "Do they see Jesus in me? Do they recognize your face? Do I communicate your love and your grace? Do I reflect who you are in the way I choose to be? Do they see Jesus in me?" I wonder this about myself sometimes. What do people see in me? What do they think of when they meet me or talk with me? Do I look different, do I act different? Do they notice anything at all? Because if you know it's there, you might see it. But what if you didn't? Would you see it anyway?
Well, in two weeks I will no longer work with the general public. In two weeks I'll have quite a bit of privacy and my interaction will people will drastically decline. And so it's a challenge for me. A challenge as I go through each day that I would live my life in a way that is noticeable. Not because of anything I can do but because of who I serve. That in the way I act and in the way I speak, people would see Jesus in me. And I praise the Lord that He's there, that He's chosen me, the least deserving, to dwell in. That He calls me His child. And my hope is that when I am no longer around, that's the one thing people would remember and notice.
#652 - Because He's chosen to dwell in me.
"Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
It was kind of a bittersweet thing today, being my last Saturday to work. I hadn't worked Saturdays since college until I started this job. And truth be told, once a month isn't terrible. But when you only have one free day a week, Saturdays become very cherished days. Anyway, I've gotten to know a lot of familiar faces over the past 11 months. I see a lot of the same people every week, and I wondered if they would miss me. I know that's kind of selfish to think that way, but I wondered how many people would notice or even ask. One of my co-workers transitioned into a new position about 4 months ago, and people are still asking about him. And so I wondered if it would be the same with me.
Here's the thing I think about quite often, am I making a difference in this world? I mean really, does my presence matter? I'm not making huge contributions to society. I highly doubt that will ever happen. I'm not going to cure someone of a disease, come up with a financial fix, or win the Nobel Peace prize. I'm not going to invent some life changing product or find a solution to world hunger. I'm finding I do a really good job of living a simple, quiet life. I do a good job of keeping to myself, staying in my bubble, and taking care of my business. And yet there's this resounding voice that's always haunting me as I wonder if I ever have or ever would change anyone's life for the good.
I love the Lord, you know that. The people I go to church with know that. My family and friends know I love the Lord, and so do the people on Facebook. If you've read any of my blog posts, hopefully you've picked up on that fact, but I wonder how many people on a daily basis know that I love the Lord. Because I can talk all day long about God's goodness to someone else who knows of it as well as I do, but I often wonder why I don't talk about it with people who are clueless about it. Why don't I mention the Lord in my conversations? I tell people about my dog all the time because I think she's the greatest pet on the face of this planet, so why is it that I don't talk to them about my God all the time because He's the one who created this planet? When they tell me about their struggles, I just shake my head in sympathy rather than offering them hope. When I pick up on the fact that they're lost, why don't I try to help them get found?
There's an old song by Joy Williams that says, "Do they see Jesus in me? Do they recognize your face? Do I communicate your love and your grace? Do I reflect who you are in the way I choose to be? Do they see Jesus in me?" I wonder this about myself sometimes. What do people see in me? What do they think of when they meet me or talk with me? Do I look different, do I act different? Do they notice anything at all? Because if you know it's there, you might see it. But what if you didn't? Would you see it anyway?
Well, in two weeks I will no longer work with the general public. In two weeks I'll have quite a bit of privacy and my interaction will people will drastically decline. And so it's a challenge for me. A challenge as I go through each day that I would live my life in a way that is noticeable. Not because of anything I can do but because of who I serve. That in the way I act and in the way I speak, people would see Jesus in me. And I praise the Lord that He's there, that He's chosen me, the least deserving, to dwell in. That He calls me His child. And my hope is that when I am no longer around, that's the one thing people would remember and notice.
#652 - Because He's chosen to dwell in me.
"Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20