Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Confessions!

Okay, today is confession time for me.  I was already feeling guilty, but then this morning I read this verse and so now I'm confessing!  The verse is from Proverbs 3:27 "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.  Do not say to your neighbor, 'Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow' -- when you have it with you."

Well, Sunday I was taking what I felt was a well deserved afternoon nap on the love seat.  The TV was going but it wasn't interfering with my z's.  Already in a deep state of relaxation and sleep, I was startled by someone at the front door.

"Mr. Hunter said I could have your little gas tank from your grill, but it has the wrong fitting," he said.
"Okay," I acknowledged sleepily. "Thanks for letting me know."

So, I closed the door and was hoping to enter back into that pleasant slumber from which I had been awakened.  I looked out the front window before lying back down, and my fuzzy sleepy brain got more awake when I saw he wasn't leaving.  He was just sitting there in his vehicle in my driveway, and it made me uneasy. It made me even more uneasy when I realized he had been on my back deck without me even knowing he had been there.

I called Gary on the phone and asked him if he knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "write him a  check so he can buy some LP gas.  His family is out of heat."

So, my confession is this.  I wrote the check, but I had a bad attitude.  I didn't feel like he deserved it. He had been given opportunities to work and had turned them down or failed to show up.  But it was "in my power to act", so I did.    He may not have deserved it, but his children needed to be warm.  I don't deserve God's grace either, but He gives it to me again and again.  If God does that for me, I guess I need to do it more willingly for others - even if it's a bit inconvenient!

3 comments:

Ozark yankee said...

I would hate to see a re-run of all the missed opportunities I had it in my power to help. Thanks for the good reminder.

Pamela said...

Powerful post. Makes me wonder how many times I've turned away when it was "in my power to help."

Jo Wolf said...

Bless you,Esther. Love that you considered the children's welfare despite dad's shortcomings.