Last Words

Life is...Last Words

What words of encouragement and love are you not sharing, because you are too busy?

"Gracious words are like honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body." ~Proverbs 16:24

Twice in the last year I did not take the time to reach out. 

About a year ago, on a Monday, I felt a tugging to call an elderly Mary Kay customer. I felt the tugging for 3 days, but I didn't call. 

I was busy. 

Truly I was, but really too busy to make a phone call?

Even as I felt this struggling and didn't do it I told myself - I'll do it later. 

If I could text her I could do that, that's fast, but she doesn't text. An actual phone call - I just dont' have time for that today.

Then I was on Facebook Wednesday night (I guess I had time for that!) and I found out she had passed away earlier that day. 

I had felt God nudging me to reach out, but I didn't take the time. 

It haunted me.

I don't know what I was supposed to say or what she would have said to me.

I decided I wouldn't be too busy again.

WELL....I guess I didn't learn my lesson because a few months ago I again felt compelled to call an elderly man, a Generations to Generations client. 

AGAIN, I kept putting it off. 

Same excuses...
I'll call soon. I'm really busy. I don't have time to actually make a phone call.

This time I received a phone call from my mom saying he had passed away.

I don't want to live in guilt, because that doesn't actually change me, but I do want to learn from these lessons. 

Putting off words of encouragement or just a word to let someone know they are loved and being thought of should not be dismissed or left for later.

This is an eerie verse that hits me to the core.
Jesus said, "I tell you, on the day of judgement people will give an account for every careless words they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." ~Matthew 12:36-37

My BIG question is - Am I more willing to "find time" to complain on social media more easily than I am willing to call and share words of life and love?


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Busy

Life is...Busy

What percentage of people define their life by the word BUSY? 95%? I don’t know, but I understand. That’s how I would describe our life right now, and it’s true, and I know so many people are really BUSY. My grandma is busy – I think she has more on her social calendar than I do, and that’s amazing!

I kept thinking this morning what if we tried to describe our life in more than just BUSY?...

-Busy & overwhelming.

-Busy but good.

-Fun.

-Stressful.

-Exciting.

I think a problem can become if we tell ourselves or speak “BUSY” all the time – that’s what we are, even if we can slow down. Even if we are slowing down we don’t feel it.

The worst part may be that if we are constantly speaking “BUSY” into our lives we miss out on where God wants to speak His BUSY in, but we may not give a Him a second to tell us who to be BUSY with or what to be BUSY with.

Is it the right kind of BUSY?

My Word

Life is...My Word

Someone asked me to pray for them, and I said, “Of course”. Two days later, I realized I hadn’t. I was ashamed. Am I too busy to truly pray for someone? No! 

It really struck me that I can’t be lackadaisical about this. I can’t just say, “I’ll pray for you,” because it’s the ‘right thing to say’. I have to truly mean it and then truly do it! It made me think, do we believe it when someone says they will pray for us? Or, do we think of it as a saying something like, "Have a great day!"? I hope not.

God always wants our yes to be yes and no to be no (Matthew 5:37), but when we are using Him as our ‘reason,’ I think we should be extra vigilant.

After I was convicted about “I’ll pray for you,” I wondered...do we say other things without really meaning it? Things like, “This is where God wants me” or “We felt God calling us here.” It’s easy to say these things because no one will question it. Don’t say it if you don’t mean it. It will eat at your faith and destroy your credibility. 

When I had surgery a friend said she’d pray for me, and then every couple days, she sent me a Bible verse. It was amazing, and I have taken this idea to heart with many interactions because it makes me stop my ‘busy life’ and look up a specific verse. It forces me to do what I said I would do...pray for them.