Doing What We Can
Daily, I report for duty and ask God for my daily assignments. I’ll admit His responses often leave me asking: “Really? Me? Who am I to do that?” I’ve come to know if He leads me to it, He equips me with the wisdom and fortitude to do it. I’ve been reading about Moses and his “call to action” by God to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. He asked God the same thing. “Who am I to lead your people?” Talk about an assignment?!?! It was God’s Master-plan for Moses to lead His people. Well, it was actually God Who led them. “By day, the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light.” (Exodus 13:21) And, thank God, that Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us by day and night!
I know it was Holy Spirit Who gave me the “go” for my move to Austin. I also know that any assignment He gives me, He will equip me for it – especially if it includes doing anything I can to emulate His love and make even a small difference in someone’s world.
It was discomfort that caused the children of Israel to be willing to leave Egypt. And it was discomfort that made me willing to leave Frisco. God used “downsizing” to motivate me. Downsizing meant reconsidering how little I need to be comfortable. As I’ve gone through this sudden change, comfort seems to be redefined. I am sitting in my living area this morning, typing this blog. The walls have been stripped bare of pictures, and in the way of furniture, I’m working from a fold-up table and fold-up chair. A little heater is at my feet as it is chilly in here this morning.
I look a few feet from me and there is my recliner chair with an afghan laying over it. That’s where I’ll go in a few minutes for my morning devotion and prayer time. Beside that chair is a little table which holds my last year’s and this year’s journalS, my devotional book, and my Bible. To the left of me is my kitchen which is also stripped bare because it’s well packed up and ready to be loaded when the “all clear” signal is given. It was supposed to have been this Monday, but with the ice, snow, and many accidents, my move is postponed until Tuesday. BUT, thanks be to God, my home closed yesterday. This picture is of me and my grandson, Payton Wallace, my brilliant realtor who sold my home in less than two days. His office is in the Dallas Cowboys’ Star practice facilities. The new owners of my home are allowing me to stay on an extra day — which makes me consider God’s timing. Maybe I’ve used the word “adventure” more than I should have.
I’m in awe when I hear about missionaries who are so passionate about the call of God on their lives. They sell everything to be on God’s call-of-duty. They are driven with making a difference to even just one. I’m not thinking that God has called me to a wilderness or outpost in a foreign land, but I am thinking He is calling me for something beyond what I know right now. I learned something from this downsizing. Those who came to my home to pick up an item(s) from me, were also given something that may have given them the love of Jesus from my words and actions. I’ve learned that the “less-is-more” idea frees me to be more intentional than ever – to be about God’s business. His business is people, loving them and, hopefully, sharing God’s impartial, unconditional love to the “whoevers” that cross my pathway.
I know I can’t do everything, but I can sure do SOMETHING. I embrace Mother Teresa’s words, “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” ― Mother Teresa