I seemed to have an "attitude" yesterday regarding something.
While I was in the middle of typing out my blog about trials and keeping our eyes on the Lord, we had one of our neighbors come by and share with Steve that one of the trees on our property that we share with her was going to have to come down. It had been hit by lightning last year and was slowing losing limbs and causing a mess in our neighbors yard.
Steve came in to tell me that the tree had to come down.
The tree that has been here all of my life.
The tree that was so beautiful on our property.
And all I heard was that the tree needed to come down.
I became irritated.
I didn't want to believe that it had to happen now.
Since things have been quite tight around here we don't have the funds lying around for removing a tree!!!
That is all I was thinking about. The selfish reasons.
As I sat there on the computer the Lord spoke so softly to me.
He said "Be a witness to your neighbor with a servant's heart." Basically, I needed the right heart attitude!!
Oh.
You mean, Lord, I can't think of myself? I can't think that this tree was on the farm and losing it would be another thing lost from my childhood?
That is right.
God made the tree. He made the lightning that hit the tree. He knows exactly when it hit the tree and how it died.
He knows how He can use this tree for His glory.
We will get to have contact with a neighbor that, before now, we haven't even known. We don't live in a subdivision so sometimes it makes getting to know people more challenging. Of course, we could have gotten out of our comfort zone, but we didn't. Now, the Lord is moving us to do so.
I felt so humbled. I felt so sorry for the way my attitude immediately went to only thoughts of ME.
I thank the Lord for His still small voice that didn't condemn, but quietly rebuked me to say this is time to show love and a servants heart to someone who may not know Him.
It is time to put into practice .... "love thy neighbor as thyself."
1 comment:
It's so easy to see things from our own perspective & feel "put out" when often God is giving us "opportunities" to shine for Him. Like you, I don't have a lot of exposure to those who don't know our Lord, so when I do I need to remember that it is an opportunity to show His love.
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