Good morning…
The day she left a wrapped gift on my doorstep, I could not wait to rush home to feel with my fingers this fresh fractal of God from my friend Lisa West. Lisa had diligently worked for years preparing to self-publish her book Fear Not! The True Story of a Cancer Survivor Who Was Healed and Transformed by God.
God is writing an incredible story through Lisa’s small life, and I loved reading each word, down to the last drop. Having finished the book this morning, I texted Lisa immediately to receive her permission to trickle some book excerpts into our everyday blog. Our life stories have criss-crossed in uncanny ways, Lisa and mine, and my own name appears on page 78, but today the one page convicting me most contains words written by Lisa’s housekeeper Mary. There is something about this Mary, something like Jesus visiting Lisa’s home before visiting mine.
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Excerpt from Fear Not! by Lisa West
Mary writes: “When Lisa asked me to work full-time for her, I told her she’d be ‘stealing’ me from her sister, Louise, who I worked for two days a week. So like I always do, I prayed about it and I heard the Lord say go to work for Lisa. Even though God wanted me to go to Lisa, Louise truly treated me better. She was much nicer and friendlier than Lisa, who was standoffish and always running in and out the door.
But I obeyed God and went to work for Lisa. ‘So what do you want me to do in this (Lisa’s) home?’ I asked the Lord. He revealed to me that Lisa was carrying a gift that He wanted to bring out and use for His glory.” (39)
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Remember how I revealed in a recent post how I felt unseen, unneeded, unwanted, and many of us could relate to feeling overlooked and insignificant? As Lisa began their relationship “standoffish and always running in and out the door,” I can image Mary feeling unseen, overlooked, insignificant as a person. But Mary obeyed and prayed for God’s purpose to be revealed. Lisa West was carrying a gift that our LORD yearned to bring out, to use for His glory, and over the years Mary would help to rub real Lisa’s precious gift.
Why does this short segment from the book convict me today? Because we have had our own “Mary” in our midst for the past two and a half weeks, our Mary’s name is Tommy. Tommy is a friend of a friend, a humble hard worker who has been refinishing our hardwood floors after this fall’s water damage. To be honest, I began my relationship with Tommy “standoffish and running in and out the door.” To me Tommy was unseen, overlooked, and insignificant amid the distractions of December.
Yet as the predicted five day job turned its page onto day fourteen, Tommy needed a ride to the bus stop to return to his modest home in Hapeville. As he sat in the passenger seat of our van, Tommy said, “You know, a lot of people just do the same exact thing on every floor they refinish, but I take my time and allow the grains of the wood to teach me what they need.” How hard to sand? What stain to use? How the grains will breathe best into the space?
For the first time, I saw, I heard, I admired Tommy. “You are an artist. What you do is a work of art, Tommy.” Being refinished by the Artist of our lives, my artist’s heart was rubbed more real by Tommy’s artist’s heart. Conversing through our car ride, I compared his flooring wisdom to lessons I’ve learned as a mom. Each of our four kids have different original grains, each needing different care. Parenting is not “one size fits all,” not every child needs the exact same response. As a mother, I seek to take my time, allowing the grains of each person to teach me what they need. Interacting like sandpaper sometimes, what type of pressure, hard or soft, is needed to rub free our real selves? What color will enhance the grains of each child’s God-given uniqueness? How will each person breathe best, aging into the space our maturing family?
When I stopped standing off, running in and out the door like my friend Lisa, I could see Tommy, the woodworking artist, as a true gift from God. This December our home has received more than gorgeous floors. Through Lisa, Mary, and Tommy, God is rubbing me more real.
You’ll be protected from vicious gossip and live fearless through any catastrophe. You’ll shrug off disaster and famine, and stroll fearlessly among wild animals. You’ll be on good terms with rocks and mountains; wild animals will become your good friends. You’ll know that your place on earth is safe, you’ll look over your goods and find nothing amiss. You’ll see your children grow up, your family lovely and lissome as orchard grass. You’ll arrive at your grave ripe with many good years, like sheaves of golden grain at harvest (Job 5:21-26, MSG).
…Sue…
