Because God has given me a ministry of writing and speaking about my relationship with Him, I should keep the Bible up front in my life’s work. But He also gave me the ministry of cards for our soldiers and I have immensely enjoyed this and received so many personal blessings. I know that the soldiers and their families appreciate those cards because of all the thank you notes I have received. Looking back, I see the amount of personal time this has involved and I’m thankful it has given me something to do especially during the long winter days.

Another blessing is the amount of supplies folks have given me. I owe so many thanks to an enormous amount of people who are interested enough to be the backbone of the ministry. They have not received the personal recognition that I have but it could not continue without their support. Now is also a good time to thank all of those who have donated money for the mailing!

I was reading in my women’s Study Bible about our love and devotion to newborn babies. We examine every finger and toe. They steal our hearts and often we think nothing compares to our feelings for them after they become the center of our lives.

I know I was like that with my two daughters and later my three grandchildren. Because of a condition they could have inherited, their fingers were one of the first parts we examined. We thanked God many times over that their fingers were normal.

God gave us those beautiful healthy children to rear and a Christian writer in the Study Bible asked her readers to remember that those babies are gifts from the Creator. Sometimes we tend to become obsessed and worship our children, and then our grandchildren even more. When my two grandsons entered my life shortly after I lost my husband, nothing gave me greater pleasure than snuggling with them. I loved to rub the beautiful hair on their heads and they would coo and smile at me. They are grown now, ages 22 and 20 (can you believe that?) and when they became teenagers they no longer liked for me to even touch their hair or make any comments about their haircuts, how they dress, or other choices they make (beards, mustaches, tattoos, cars, etc.)

I no longer get to spend much time with them as they are busy filling their lives with 40-hour/week jobs, college, girlfriends, and family. But that is how life progresses. The Lord gives us children but sometimes we outlive them just as we do our parents or our mates. (I pray every day that I will not outlive any of my loved ones … been there, done that!)

I’m getting away from one point I was trying to share. Sometimes we become so enamored with our children, our jobs or hobbies that we neglect our worship of the one who created these gifts with such “infinite wisdom, care and direction.”

At times, I don’t know exactly what to write to summarize my thoughts together. But that is where a short stay in a nursing home was the right time to review God’s word in the Holy Bible and the following verses caught my attention.

This scripture is from the book of Romans. It was written by Paul when he wrote a letter to introduce himself to the Church of Rome. He was saying this about himself, but in today’s world, it applies to any Christian trying to share his/her testimony so I am quoting this as it applies to me. Hope upon hope is that others may see Christ in me in these verses.

Romans 1:16-17: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘the righteous will live by faith’.”

Are you ashamed of the gospel? Are you one of his righteous ones and do you live by faith? The time is right to pray for forgiveness and invite Christ into your heart to be your personal savior. Spend part of your time reading and revering God’s Holy Word.

 

Linda Beck is a local writer who lives in Woodleaf.