How God Comforts

I was recently working in the garage and listening to a program on the radio dealing with women who where unable to have children. They were disappointed and it was certainly a sadness in their lives. And that's understandable. We all have dreams and can feel sad when they do not become reality. But the host then asked the question. "I'm sure you must have felt disappointed in God and even angry with Him. Tell us about it." I must say that I get tired of that sort of thing. She should have said, "Tell us how God comforted you during this trial." The universe does not revolve around us. It's self-centeredness and selfishness that results in our being disappointed with God. We ought to know God well enough to know He's our comfort and help and we can trust Him even though we do not understand our situation. We ought to know Him well enough to realize He loves us more than we can imagine. He is for us not against us and we ought to never think otherwise. We ought to know ourselves well enough to realize that wrong thoughts about God come because we are in the wrong, not God.

But I digress, for that's not the thought that I wanted to express. When I heard this discussion, I thought, "My life and it's issues were settled the day I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour." Jesus is the Lord of my life, and I submitted myself into His care on the very day I became His. When my wife died, it was in His hands and I submitted to Him and His will. Furthermore, I was greatly comforted as I thought about the love God had for my wife, and all the blessings He gave her. So instead of being angry with Him, I was filled with a greater love for God than ever before. Yes, I was hurting and it affected me and my daughters for a long time, but God was the source of my comfort. And I felt that God was putting His trust in me and my daughters. Trusting me to do what would bring praise to Him. So how has God comforted you in your disappointments?

Some Favorite Scriptures

I've been memorizing scriptures recently, and thought I'd share a couple of them with you. For some reason, I get a special delight from God's word. Memorizing them causes me to spend a lot of time thinking about them. So, here you go. . .

Jeremiah 9:23-24

²³ This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,

²⁴ but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD.

Romans 8

²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." ³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Aren't those great scriptures? I received an award recently, but it's nothing to boast about. Besides, awards and honors never last. People soon forget and it turns to dust. But how wonderful it is to be able to say in truth that I understand and know God. That's something to boast about. It may sound arrogant, but it's true and it produces daily fruit and will continue to do so for all eternity. What could be better?

Camping Near St Maries Idaho

I haven't been camping for two years. So last weekend I headed down Hwy 97 along Lake Coeur d Alene. It was mostly sunny and a beautiful day. The drive is spectacular. I stayed at Hawley's Landing in Heyburn State Park. I walked along the lake and took in the sights. It started to rain and I was a long way from my camp, so I headed back. The rain was very light, and the trees kept me sheltered from most of the rain, so I didn't get wet. I read for awhile and ate part of an apple. It was the only supper I had with me. Then I developed a longing for a donut. A chocolate donut. It's a bit of a drive to St Maries, so I decided to head to Plummer Idaho to get a few donuts and peanuts. The bike was wet, so I had to wear rain gear, but it was dry all the way there. I found some peanuts and donuts and went back to camp where I pigged out. Something I only do a few times a week!

The next morning I was up around 6:30am and made a cup of coffee. It was very enjoyable after a good nights sleep. It was chilly and shaded at my camp site, so I left on my bike to fine a sunny place where I could read my Bible and pray. I stopped at a couple places before I found what I was looking for.

Next, I packed everything back on my bike and drove down the St Joe river as far as Calder Idaho. I was amazed at the number of campers along the river. It must be a favorite fishing place. When I returned to St Maries, I had a hamburger at Bob's Big Burgers I think it was called. I enjoyed the fries as much as the burger. Now that I was well fed, I headed home and arrived around 3pm. I mowed the lawn and then had popcorn with mother. It was a nice short camping trip. Next year, I plan to do a lot more camping.

Noah and Honey

I often called Noah honey. How can I not do so when he's so precious to me. But Noah finally asked me why I called him honey. I explained that honey was sweet and he was sweet, so I called him honey. He told me his name is Noah, and I should call him Noah or Buggy (his nickname), but don't call him honey. I must admit that I tried, but didn't succeed one time out of ten.

God's Unknown Blessings

How many times has God interceded for us and saved us from death, injury, foolish choices etc, and we were totally oblivious to it because it never happened. How many times has He interceded for us giving us honors, favor, wisdom and and a host of other blessings and we were unaware of how He was at work in our behalf. So don't say, "Why did God allow this?" Instead think about the many times He did intercede and trust Him with your current situation. And don't simply look at the past and see what He has done, look at the present. Remember, there are times when we may pray for something specific, and God says, "I love you, but I cannot do that for you. But because you prayed and trusted Me, I will do this, and you will find, some day, that what I am doing now is far better than what you have asked of me. I know you will feel let down, but trust Me in what I am doing."

God's affection for us is like the affection that a parent has for a child. Parents would do anything for their children. But look at God. He gave His one and only Son into the hands of sinful men while He stood back and watched Him suffer. Why? Because He loves you and not in a generic sense but as a parent loves a child. As Romans 8 says, He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all -- how will He not also, along with him, graciously give us all things."

Some people go through life feeling happy and blessed by God. It's not that their lives are easy or that they have greater blessings. It's simply that they take the time to love God by seeing His blessings in everything, good and bad. Others go through life without a lot of appreciation for God. They may want to love Him more, but they are busy and preoccupied and all too often focused upon the things they want. As a result they fail to enjoy His goodness and to see His blessings. They even fail to enjoy God, and that's a great loss for them.

I love reading the writings of Paul because they are so positive. Yet Paul's life was so negative, in the sense that he suffered so much because of his love and service to God. He set his heart and delight in God. He set his love and delight in honoring and serving God. Too often we set our heart upon earthly desires. It's hard to do otherwise. Yet, we must make a new beginning at setting our hearts upon using our lives for God's purpose alone. And if we do so, I know God will show us what to do. Not necessarily in a manner that we understand clearly, but we will be doing the very thing He desires without realizing we are doing it. And if that is where our heart is, then that will give far more delight that anything we will ever achieve in this life for ourselves. As Colossians 3:1-2 says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

Returing from Korea

When I returned from Korea, my dear faithful mother was waiting for me at the baggage area. It was good to be back and good to be with my mom, but also a little sad as I would miss my family in Korea.

When she picked me up, she wasn't sure if I would go right to bed or have supper first. So she prepared for both eventualities. She made a large bowl of potato salad for me along with a peach pie. I love my mother's potato salad, not to mention the pie. What a nice blessing! I wanted to celebrate, so I made some popcorn, visited with my mom, and then ended up having some peach pie. Mother had one piece and I ate the rest. And the potato salad was enjoyed during the next few days. Just so you know, I didn't eat the pie all at once, but it didn't take long to finish it off. Mothers are very special - that's because of the love they have for their children.

I now had the task of adjusting to jet lag. For some reason, it was the easiest adjustment that I've had since visiting my daughters in foreign lands. And that was a blessing from the Lord.

My Visit with SoYun

While visiting my family in Korea, I took the opportunity to visit another friend from Korea, SoYun. I first met SoYun in the Communications Learning Center at Spokane Falls Community College where I was working.

SoYun lives near an amusement park in Seoul, and she knew it would be fun for Noah to go there. And too, her dad wanted to meet me. however, the weather didn't cooperate. The day we met it rained hard all day. So we met at the subway station and had lunch at a small restaurant. We then went to a coffee house. It was special to be able to see my friend, SoYun in her native land. Also, Hannah was an invaluable aid as she contacted SoYun and traveled with me so we could meet. Perhaps next time we might have a day of enjoyment at the amusement park. Nonetheless, it was a special time for me.

Vacation

I had the month of August off. Yeah! It's a little taste of what retirement will be like and I'm ready - but wait, I'm not planning to retire for a number of years yet. And that will make the time I do have off all the better. So what did I do?

Well, as you can see below, I visited Hannah and Noah in Korea. After returning and adjusting to jet lag I worked on a number of projects. I finished installing an electronic cruise control on my motorcycle. It works really well but was a lot of work. Now I enjoy the fruits of that labor. I also built a luggage rack for my cycle. A rather large luggage rack. Motorcycles in Korea and the Philippines are workhorses and often have huge luggage racks. Actually, they generally have a couple of large baskets similar to the milk crates you might be familiar with, only a lot larger. That way, they can carry large loads economically. Practicality is important. You can tell that from the photo! While walking past a Pizza Hut there was a fleet of motorcycles with nice trunks for carrying pizza. A large rack is handy, especially for strapping my tent and sleeping bag down for those camping trips that I don't seem to find the time to make.

When I added the cruise control switches to my bike I also added a garage door opener. I took a garage door opener remote apart and installed the circuit board it in a box on my cycle so it's now a built in part of the bike. I needed an extra opener for my car, so I bought an EasySwitch and modified it to work as a garage door opener. It was less the $8 at Harbor Freight Tools, so I saved about $10 over the cost of an actually opener. An EasySwitch has an remote control and another portion that plugs into an outlet. You then plug an appliance into the outlet and the remote turns the appliance off and on. It was a fairly simply modification to make it work as a garage door opener.

As you can see, I like working on projects. I'd like to work on a few fun projects that Noah can play with next year when he comes. At least, I'm hoping and praying that he'll be able to visit me next year. And if not, maybe I could take my projects to him in Korea. However, I'm wondering what will happen when the airlines open my suitcase and discover all kinds of homemade electronic gadgets in there. I fear they'll want to detain me and question me and maybe talk all my nice things away from me. So Noah had better visit me so that doesn't happen. And I had better start working on those projects.

Mother and I also had a picnic at the Post Falls, Id. falls. It was a pleasant day. We also took a drive after church. It's nice to relax a little. A couple days ago we visited Jean in Spokane to view her flower garden. She started her flower gardens about 20 years ago, and now it's a work of love and beauty. She spends several hours a day working in her garden and loves doing so. She also fed us with soup and brownies. She makes the best brownies I've ever had. She works at the college and will sometimes bring brownies for her students. And that's good, because she somehow always has a few left for me!

So that's mostly what I did during my month off. And now I'm back to working and buried under far too many email messages. But it's good to be back. I'm blessed to have a job that's pleasant and enjoyable. It fits me perfectly. Thank you, Lord.

Trusting God

There is a lot of confusion in the area of having faith in God. During these difficult times, people want to trust God for their needs. They want to believe that God will keep their job secure. They pray and hope that it is so, but it's hard to have a rock solid faith that God will intervene in our behave and we'll keep our job. We pray for our children and their struggles, hoping God will respond. But we continue to worry because we aren't sure God will do as we ask. And in fact, He might not. In all our situations, we hope God will do what we ask, but we often lack confidence. The problem is we have a misplaced faith.

As I understand it, here is where we should put our faith.

First, we trust in God's love and affection for us. That is our solid rock truth. No matter what happens in life; the disappointments, the hurts, the fears, the tragedies, or anything else the occurs, we can have an absolute confidence in God's love for us, and we can rest in that love. Just as a parent has love and affection for their children, so God has love and affection for us. Have you thought about God's love for you? How precious you are to Him? Do you go through you day smiling because you know He cares about you? That should be our unshakable foundation. In Rom 5:8 we read:

⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus suffered and died on the cross because He loves you. That was a huge sacrifice which came right from the heart of God. So in the darkest hour you can look up and see the cross and know that you are loved. Let that be your joy, confidence and comfort. When Paul wrote to the Philippians he said: "Rejoice in the Lord. I'll say it again, rejoice." We can't always rejoice in our circumstances, but we can always rejoice in the Lord.

The second foundation of faith is to know that God's grace is sufficient for us. That is, we can trust God to be with us in every situation and to provide the strength we need. You do not need to fear the future for you know God will be with you.

Most of you are very familiar with Paul's thorn in the flesh. We don't know what affliction Paul suffered, but three times he pleaded with God to take it away. But God told Paul (and hence us), "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor 12:9).

God doesn't promise to make our path smooth and easy. He promises that He will provide what we need to endure what comes our way.

So our faith is in God's love and His grace. Those are sure and steadfast, and in that we rest.

My time with Noah

It's fun to converse with children. Somehow the topic of my age came up, and I told Noah I was old. He said, "Grandpa, your not old because you hairs not white." He said his other grandparents were old but I wasn't old. While walking to the park Noah said, "Grandpa, you look angry." I said, "Noah, I'm not angry, but when you get old your face changes." He replied, "Grandpa, your not very old." He repeated that phrase whenever the topic came up. I loved it.

While in the park Noah would talk to different children and sometimes adults. Whenever I asked him what he said, he'd ask, "In English or Korean?" And I'd tell him, "In English," and he'd explain it to me. He wanted to know if Grandmother (that's what he calls great-grandma) and I spoke English or Korean in our home. I told him English and he wanted to know why. I explained that we live in America and in America everyone speaks English. He still couldn't understand why we didn't speak Korean in our home. It just didn't make sense to him. He brought this topic up several times as he couldn't understand why we spoke English instead of Korean.

I'll bet we are just like Noah. There are things we don't understand regarding God and life- things that don't make sense to us. We can pray about it and think about it and ask God and even read the answer in the Bible, but it still doesn't make sense to us. But someday it will make perfect sense and we'll wonder why we didn't understand it in the first place.

Noah and I were walking back to the apartment and I asked Noah how to say "thank you" in Korea. He told me and I repeated it. He said, "Grandpa, that's a little similar." Then he repeated it for me, and I tried to say it correctly but failed. He said, "Grandpa, watch my tongue." Then he said several things in Korean and ended with "thank you." I know when I'm licked and gave it up (for now). I think Noah would be a good instructor and maybe next time I'll have him teach me a few words. I don't hear as well as I used to so it's hard to distinguish sounds.

I read a lot of stories to Noah and we talked a lot - to the point that my throat was getting sore. And we told each other stories. And we prayed together. I'd also downloaded some videos of robots and Noah enjoyed looking at them. I'm hoping they can visit me next summer as I'd have a lot of interesting things that I could do with Noah. So I'll keep that in prayer.

My trip to Korea - Part 1

(click on a picture for a larger view) I decided I should write about my trip to S Korea in segments. It makes for easier reading and writing. I left Aug 4th (Tuesday) and arrived in Incheon on Aug 5th around 6:40pm. Hannah was there to meet me. I was full from the meal I had on the plane but Hannah was hungry and uncharacteristically, she had a burger at the airport. I looked at the menu board and they advertised "Idaho Fries." Sounds good.

We took the bus to her apt and I quickly headed to bed, as it was after 4am my time. Hannah went out of her way to please me. She made a trip in the evening to get some peanuts (my favorite food). Part of them she ground into peanut butter. She also bought bread, butter, jam and after much searching, popcorn. Noah and I especially enjoyed those treats. I must confess that the day before departing, Noah and I enjoyed some popcorn and then I opened a new bag of shelled peanuts and ate far more than I should have. I just couldn't help myself. Thanks Hannah.

She also took me out for some chicken since it's one of my favorites. It was quite spicy but very good. And she bought some fish which made for some good eating. It's interesting that at the store in the same cold food section, there would be a package of fish that cost around $250 dollars and right next to it was another package that was only a few dollars. I found the same thing in produce. They have prepackaged fruit that can cost $150 or more next to regularly priced produce. I found that incredible. I just can't imagine what's so special about the expensive fish or fruit - other than the price. Most of our meals were at home which I prefered.

The park lies across the street from the apartment. It's a great place for kids and for adults. I spent a lot of time there with Noah and even went under the fountain with the kids. At different times I'd have Korean children come and say something to me. The only Korean I know that would make any sense to them is "nay" (yes). A few adults also spoke to me but we weren't able to communicate since they didn't speak English and I don't speak Korean. One Korean boy tried to pull me into the fountain and two little girls were smiling and I could tell they wanted to help but were too bashful. If I didn't have my passport and etickets and billfold, I would have given in, but not this time.

Noah and I played badmitten one afternoon. The birdies have lights so we were able to play in the dark, which we did. There's a projector in the park, and at night it projects different scenes onto the ground. For instance, it projects a soccer field complete with goals and a socker ball. The little kids (Noah included), run to kick the ball. There seems to be a camera or two that sees what is going on and responds accordingly. It keeps score, although the kids don't actually have teams, they just love to run and kick at the image of the ball and hope to make a goal. Then it turns into a pool with frogs and the kids run around trying to stomp on the frogs, but you have to be fast. For those frogs quickly dart off in another direction. It's great fun for the kids. There are probably 10 rotating games the occur one ofter the other. The kids have great fun.

I'll write more later, but that gives you a snapshop of my trip. I'll tell you about going to Seoul to visit a friend from college, SoYun. And my other adventures.

Set apart Christ as Lord

Today is Easter - the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We learn from Rom. 14:9b that: "Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living." And in 1 Peter 3:15 we read, "¹⁵But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord."

He died and rose that He would have the right and authority to be our loving master and Lord. He is the only one who knows us inside out and is thereby able to direct us into paths that are best for us now and for eternity. Those who set Him apart as Lord, doing so from the heart, will find themselves to be the most fulfilled, satisfied and joyful people on the face of the earth. After all, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psm 37:4 And when they die, "[they] will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2Peter 1:11.

We all have a master. The only question is which one we will choose to obey. For if Jesus is not the master, then there is another master ruling over our life. And any other master will always end up hurting us and others in many ways. Some people choose selfishness as their master. To do what one wants seems like a good choice if we want to maximize our own pleasures. But that's not the case. It brings guilt, heartache, trouble and disappointment. Selfish people are the most miserable people around. For others, their emotions rule them. So they tend to do what they feel like doing. Whether it's the pursuit of pleasure because it feels good; or the emotions of anger, rage, bitterness, malice and revenge. These are masters who destroy us from the inside out, leaving nothing but a smoldering mass of bitterness, resentment, depression and deep seated unhappiness.

So if you find yourself stressed, your heart is down, and life is less than satisfying, why not give Jesus a chance to be your Lord. Why not decide today that you will have no other master but Him. Now is the time to set apart Christ as Lord. And the next time you feel tempted to do what you ought not to do, remember that you have set apart Christ as Lord. So don't submit to your feelings and desires, for you have no need or obligation to follow any other except Him. After all, Jesus loves you more than you love yourself. He is more interested in your wellbeing than you are. He cares deeply about you. So much so, that He died for you and rose from the dead so He could be your lord. Only then can He lead you down paths that are not necessarily easy, but paths that maximize your usefulness, your joy in the Lord, and your satisfaction with life. And in the end you will receive a rich welcome into His eternal kingdom. What could be better than that?

Pleasing God

Hannah, I want to respond to your comment. And since you like debate, here you go. Actually, we do know what God thinks and pleasing Him is an easy matter. Let me explain.

Pleasing God is a simple matter because we have a great advantage - we are precious to Him. "Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." (Col 3:12) That's what makes it simple. He wants to be pleased in us. Just as a child who is dearly loved by a parent can easily please that parent, so we can easily please God. It's the parents love that makes it possible. And it's God's love for us that makes it possible for us to please God.

The Christian life consists of being greatly loved by God and then responding to that love. In fact, every action should be a response to His love for us. We ought to wake up in the morning and smile because we know that God loves us and nothing in life compares to that. We ought to bask in that love throughout the day. It takes a conscience effort, and we don't always feel loved, but that's irrelevant. For we know we are loved as the Bible clearly tells us, and so we have to put our feelings aside and by faith rejoice in the love God has for us. And must never do anything that would come between God and us. If we feel guilty about something, we need to deal with it. We can feel guilty because we are guilty, in which case we need to confess our sin. And we know that he always forgives as as 1 Jn 1:9 states. And if we feel guilty when we shouldn't we deel with that and ask God's help. The important point is to make sure) that nothing comes between God and our love for Him.

I simply must share this scripure, because it's so precious. (Why haven't I memorized it? "For I am convinced that neither death nhor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ jeus our Lord." Rom 8:38-39

It's a great joy for me to know that nothing can ever separate me from God's love. I don't have to worry about the future. I don't have to worry about death. I don't have to worry about demons or satan. Nothing will every separate me from God's love. And I also believe that it means nothing will ever separate me from loving God. My love may ebb and flow, but it is always there. My job is to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Mark 12:29)

The second reason it's easy to please God is because has told us what pleases Him. If a parent tells a child, "I would be so happy if you would . . ." And when that child, out of love for the parent, does that very thing, it's very pleasing to the parent. Love is what makes it all work.

I know M's heart and the love she has for God. I also know that she looks for ways that she can please Him. It was God who put it into her heart to offer to let her company use her car. She simply responded to God and was blessed to be able to help. If God did not what her to do this, she would know it in her heart. I like to do things for God and then tell Him I'm doing this because I love Him and want to please Him. But even if I don't say that, we both know that is my motivation and that is what drove my actions.

There is no question that M was a blessing to those who needed a car, and to her Mission organization. And there is no question about God's response to what she did. We can do a 1001 "what if's," but to no avail. In the end we will be completely confused and will have lost our joy. We live by faith and that means we respond to God's love doing what we believe will please Him. And by faith we believe He communicates with us. His word leaves no doubt about how we can please Him.

Yes, we can say, "But maybe God wanted someone else to offer their car." And we can pose many such questions that are all valid. But it still comes down to the fact that we must respond to what we believe God wants us to do. And if we feel loaning our car in this matter is something that pleases Him, we ought to do it. And there is always a time when we refrain from doing something good because we feel God is telling us no. But we mustn't complicate matters by trying to figure out every possibility. I've often told God that I intend to do something, and if He didn't want me to do so, He needed to tell me. And there have been those times where I ended up feeling God was saying no.

M wanted to loan her car. I thought about talking to her about it and bringing up all the negatives. But I didn't do that. Why? Because I felt God was telling me to not discourage her in this matter. I needed to respond to that conviction. And He helped me realize that my attitude was totally wrong. I wasn't looking at it from an eternal perspective, but from a selfish perspective. I was clearly convinced that I would be a stumbling block to God as well as to M. I've seen how people can be so happy to do something and then someone comes along and discourages them from doing it. I've had people do that to me.

If M was struggling with what she should do, and asked for my advice, then it would have been appropriate for me to express what I was thinking. And I would hope that I had enough love for God to see His perspective and not mine. After all, "Let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds."

This is how I live my life. Very imperfectly I'll grant, but I always strive to accomplish what I have just written. And I have a long long ways to go.

Serving

A friend of mine works at a mission organization. They had visitors arriving and in these tight economic times (several people have already been laid off at this agency), they asked if anyone had a car that could be used for transportation this week. So my friend offered to let them use her car. I wasn't happy about that. She would drive her car to work and then take the bus home, which takes about an extra hour I think. That also meant that she would have to walk close to two miles to get from the bus stop to home. She had another vehicle that she would drive during the rest of the week, except on Friday when she would walk to the bus stop, take the bus to work, and then drive her car home after work.

I felt that they were taking advantage of her. It didn't seem fair and was more than a little inconvenient. Plus the battery in her other vehicle was dying so she had to get a new battery.

And then I began to think of it in a different light. First, she was happy to do this. I was the only one unhappy about it. I thought of Peter in the Bible. When Jesus told his disciples of his upcoming death, here's how Peter responded:

²²Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

²³Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Peter was a stumbling block - a hindrance to Jesus. Why? Because "you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

And so I thought. How does God view the actions of my friend? Ah, He's very pleased and proud of the sacrifice she is making. And He will reward her in heaven for what she has done.

^"10God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them." Heb 6:10

Fortunately, I didn't discourage her or try to convince her that her company was taking advantage of her. Had I done so, I would have been a stumbling block to her. If she then listened to me, she would have displeased God and lost part of her reward. So I decided I wouldn't say anything until Friday. But by then, there was nothing to say except to say I was proud of what she did.

I fear that far too often we have the things of man in mind instead of the things of God. The article entitled "Doormat" comes out of this experience. I feel that many women have stumbled because they don't want anyone to think they are a doormat to their husbands. They ought to be thinking about God and how He feels about their loving and sacrificial service to their husbands instead of listening to people who may have good intentions, yet they are a hindrance. And remember, God isn't unjust. He ALWAYS rewards the good that we do. So no sacrifice is ever in vain. Husbands might not notice or care, but God always notices and cares and rewards. And that gets us to the point where we see we ought to do it primarily for Him, knowing it pleases Him. And that's something we can always do. We don't always succeed in pleasing others and yes, they will take advantage of us, but we can always please God and He makes it right. That's what keeps us doing the right thing when we get no results here.

Doormats

Husbands and wives often have ways of relating to each other that outsiders would not understand. Let me give you an illustration:

A friend of mine went to visit a couple that he knew. Soon after arriving, the husband said to his wife, "Women, go make us a pie." And she did. Now my friend was rather put out. He didn't like the way his friend treated his wife. After all, she shouldn't be treated like a doormat.

But there is another side to the story. The friend leaves and the husband and wife sit for awhile and enjoy each others company. The husband revels in his wife. She's such a great cook and so willing to serve. He was proud of his wife. And she felt very happy and content. She liked to bake and to show of her skills. She knew it pleased her husband and that gave her a sense of joy and fulfillment. And so, the two felt closer to each other because of the events of that evening.

But others might not understand. They might feel that this husband was rude to his wife and was using her as a doormat. Yet, she is happy and fulfilled, and to make her discontent would be a great loss to her and to her husband. And far too often, that's exactly what has happened to one wife after another. And she's the one that looses the most. Husbands and wifes shouldn't worry about becoming a doormat, they should focus upon serving each other in love. Husbands and wifes who find enjoyment in serving each other are the happiest and most content of all people. May no one take that away from them.

My wife was always good about making popcorn for me. I've already written about that. It was a little thing that made me love her all the more. And she loved to please me, and because of that, she found it fulfilling. Of course, who can enjoy a huge bowl of popcorn without also having a big bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup. I always enjoyed having my wife fix my ice cream. Sometimes I'd do it, but the problem was, it never tasted as good. And that's the truth. There was added pleasure when it came from her hand, because there was an added measure of love and appreciation envolved.

Husbands and wifes would find marriage much more rewarding if they would forget about being doormats, and focus upon selflessly serving each other.