Proverbs 3:27-29
Never walk away from someone who deserves help;
your hand is God’s hand for that person.
Don’t tell your neighbor “Maybe some other time”
or “Try me tomorrow”
when the money’s right there in your pocket.
Don’t figure ways of taking advantage of your neighbor
when he’s sitting there trusting and unsuspecting.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Christmas Eve 2011, Greg and I were hosting our family for a mid-afternoon lunch. Grandma E was here, and my sister and her husband were on their way. My mother and her sister drove up at our front door with my Mam-ma Polly riding in the front passenger seat, and Greg went to the door to greet them. I was busy in the kitchen when I heard my mother yell. Mam-ma had stepped out of the car before anyone could get to her to assist her…and she had fallen. I stopped what I was doing and rushed to the driveway, where my grandmother lay outside the car like a stunned little bird that had flown into a window. She was motionless, and blood was pouring from her head - and running down our driveway.
Greg called 911 and ran to get towels, and I applied pressure to the wound while doing my best to keep my grandmother still. She had “come around” and was saying, “I need to get up.” I encouraged her not to move until the ambulance and EMTs arrived.
Needless to say, the dinner plans were changed in a split second. Greg and I took turn sitting in the ER with my grandmother, while my mother and her sister finished preparing the almost-ready meal for the others, then cleaning the kitchen. My grandmother was admitted to the hospital for a couple of days to treat a concussion, and trips back and forth to sit with her became our “Christmas.” I would not have had it any other way.
Mam-ma tried to send me home a couple of times…but we both knew she needed me. The tables had turned, and I was now the “parent”…and she was the “child.” More to the point, she was God’s child, and I was in many ways His hand for her. Earlier in the same month, my grandmother had spent about a week in the hospital for congestive heart failure. While sitting with her, I wrote Christmas cards, greeted visitors, and attended to her needs in between doctor and nurse visits.
It would have been so easy to say, “I have things to do…a house to decorate, gifts to purchase and wrap, cookies to bake…” and much more. But my grandmother needed help…and God sent me.
I wish I could say that I have always been as attentive to God’s nudge…that I have never said, “Not this time,” or “Maybe later.” But I have promised visits to people and never gotten there…I’ve said “If I can help you, please let me know” and hoped the whole time that no one would call me. I’ve gritted my teeth and helped someone while wishing the whole time that God had sent someone else.
Don’t misunderstand me…there are times when we genuinely are not available…when we are too busy, not up to the task – or we sense that God is not telling us to get involved in something or offer to help with a particular task. We must be careful not to step into someone else’s mission or ministry, and we must pay very close attention to where and how God is calling us to serve. But when we know that God is putting us in a position to be His hand to someone else, we MUST comply – and serve gladly.
There were several times in the years that I cared for my grandmother that I grew weary and frustrated…but I did my best to listen to God’s voice and help her whenever and however I could. I’m sure there were times I missed the mark completely…and there were plenty of times that SHE felt I fell short! But I have no regrets…and lots of blessings and happy memories. And I want that to be the case in every instance where my hand is God’s hand to another. What about you?
©2016 Debbie Robus
Never walk away from someone who deserves help;
your hand is God’s hand for that person.
Don’t tell your neighbor “Maybe some other time”
or “Try me tomorrow”
when the money’s right there in your pocket.
Don’t figure ways of taking advantage of your neighbor
when he’s sitting there trusting and unsuspecting.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Christmas Eve 2011, Greg and I were hosting our family for a mid-afternoon lunch. Grandma E was here, and my sister and her husband were on their way. My mother and her sister drove up at our front door with my Mam-ma Polly riding in the front passenger seat, and Greg went to the door to greet them. I was busy in the kitchen when I heard my mother yell. Mam-ma had stepped out of the car before anyone could get to her to assist her…and she had fallen. I stopped what I was doing and rushed to the driveway, where my grandmother lay outside the car like a stunned little bird that had flown into a window. She was motionless, and blood was pouring from her head - and running down our driveway.
Greg called 911 and ran to get towels, and I applied pressure to the wound while doing my best to keep my grandmother still. She had “come around” and was saying, “I need to get up.” I encouraged her not to move until the ambulance and EMTs arrived.
Needless to say, the dinner plans were changed in a split second. Greg and I took turn sitting in the ER with my grandmother, while my mother and her sister finished preparing the almost-ready meal for the others, then cleaning the kitchen. My grandmother was admitted to the hospital for a couple of days to treat a concussion, and trips back and forth to sit with her became our “Christmas.” I would not have had it any other way.
Mam-ma tried to send me home a couple of times…but we both knew she needed me. The tables had turned, and I was now the “parent”…and she was the “child.” More to the point, she was God’s child, and I was in many ways His hand for her. Earlier in the same month, my grandmother had spent about a week in the hospital for congestive heart failure. While sitting with her, I wrote Christmas cards, greeted visitors, and attended to her needs in between doctor and nurse visits.
It would have been so easy to say, “I have things to do…a house to decorate, gifts to purchase and wrap, cookies to bake…” and much more. But my grandmother needed help…and God sent me.
I wish I could say that I have always been as attentive to God’s nudge…that I have never said, “Not this time,” or “Maybe later.” But I have promised visits to people and never gotten there…I’ve said “If I can help you, please let me know” and hoped the whole time that no one would call me. I’ve gritted my teeth and helped someone while wishing the whole time that God had sent someone else.
Don’t misunderstand me…there are times when we genuinely are not available…when we are too busy, not up to the task – or we sense that God is not telling us to get involved in something or offer to help with a particular task. We must be careful not to step into someone else’s mission or ministry, and we must pay very close attention to where and how God is calling us to serve. But when we know that God is putting us in a position to be His hand to someone else, we MUST comply – and serve gladly.
There were several times in the years that I cared for my grandmother that I grew weary and frustrated…but I did my best to listen to God’s voice and help her whenever and however I could. I’m sure there were times I missed the mark completely…and there were plenty of times that SHE felt I fell short! But I have no regrets…and lots of blessings and happy memories. And I want that to be the case in every instance where my hand is God’s hand to another. What about you?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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