No matter what your vision is today, the picture sees man pitted against man. Life is a videotape replay of you don’t look, believe, feel or act as I do; therefore, you are wrong. Not only are you wrong, but you must also be smeared, replaced and annihilated. But, is this God’s calling to us, His children? Unquestionably, we are commanded to stand up and defeat evil of every genre. However, of equal importance, we are christened to see reflections of God’s goodness and love.
This week I’ve heard God whispering: Looks are not a reflection of beliefs. So, stop focusing on the negative worldly war of judgmental confrontational uprisings. Instead, seek and find My children – your brothers and sisters, who reflect Me, Your Creator Father. This will bring you hope and surround you in My army, that nothing nor no one can defeat. And so, I went shopping for just this.
“Ruby” assisted my three-year-old grandson and me in the Wal Mart fabric section. My family cat had decided to recline on the fabric base of cube shelves, housing JB’s toys at Grammy’s home. Let me just say, it was a downward, spiraling fall for the Kitty. By the time he hit the floor, Meatloaf had ripped and tumbled through every level of the fabric framework. As JB shouted, “Bad Kitty”, I ran for my car keys. While fastening him into his car seat, JB’s litany was up to many “bads” before he voiced “kitty”.
JB, with his chosen replacement fabric in tow, handed it to sales associate, “Ruby” to measure and cut the needed length. Ruby’s eyes sparkled “motherly love” as JB entrusted the bolt of material into her calloused, yet tender, hands. Her blue work vest was adorned with a “25 years” patch. As I thanked Ruby for not only helping us but, also, for the gentle care she shared with JB, I questioned if the “25 years” patch was hers. With pride and gratitude in her voice, Ruby affirmed that for a quarter of a century she thanked the Lord she could support and serve hers, her family’s, her God’s and her customers’ needs. She added she only wished she could have started her job before she was sixteen years old so that, even sooner, she would have realized the self-esteem of being responsible and able to bless her God by helping others’ needs.
My newly discovered sister in Christ and I immediately felt a bond and rejoiced together over our God, our blessings and our hearts’ and souls’ similarity. In a mirror’s reflection, we, physically, looked totally different. It didn’t matter. We were Siamese twins when it came to faith, hope, love and joy for God, His blessings bestowed on us and His unifying power in our hearts and souls. Absolutely, this shopping trip had found me a new sister in Christ, who looked like me on the side that matters most – the inside.
My search for people who look like me was not over, but just beginning. A few days later found me in a ritzy Macy’s department store. Crowded and short staffed, most employees and customers were agitated. However, I couldn’t help but notice one sales associate. She was a radiant light of kindness, reaching out to all, offering her physical helping hand and appreciative loving heart.
Shamefully, till God challenged me to seek and find His children who looked like me, I would have never seen this employee as a family of God sister resembling me. Her mouth, nose and tongue piercings would have separated us from sharing the same appearance. Skin shallow would have stopped my heart and soul deep recognition of our child of God resemblance.
From a distance, I observed her place shoes at the feet of others; and, in the process, shoe away their worldly agitation, replacing it with laughter and a scent of God’s peace. Though she hadn’t physically assisted me, she had touched my spirit. I wanted to thank her, so I walked up to her “anything but like me” outside silhouette. As I expressed what a needed breath of God’s caring and sharing she was, I noticed her eyes were becoming misty. She responded by telling me her daddy had named her “Gem” and that my words affirmed her self-worth. Her momma had tossed her aside and abandoned her when she was a little child because she was worthless. Her piercing hurt had fueled her desire to do the opposite to every other person who ever crossed her path. Thus, there Gem was, in a crowded Mother’s Day shopping multitude, giving to those she did not even know the exact opposite of what her own worldly mother had inflicted on her. Beyond words, as I hugged my newly found sister in Christ, I thanked God for challenging me to open my eyes and see His children, who even in this evil world, none the less, beautifully reflect His image and likeness.
It’s more than time for all of us to stop letting today’s evil blind us. We see and talk about all that is wrong. Let’s cease this and replace it with scanning the scenes we are in to look for good people reflecting their Creator. Believe me, they are there. Once discovered, let us be bold enough to thank them, expressing gratitude for them mirroring the way God created us to be. This just might change our world from focus on evil to awareness of God’s goodness.
We need to not be captives of all the negativity the world serves us. Even tiny crumbs of God’s reflection, sighted in His children, will free us from overhanging clouds of worldly evil and despair. All we need to do is open our eyes and heart and be brave enough to reach out to those who, deep down, truly look like us.
Best thing I’ve done in a month of Sundays was following God’s nudge to take some shopping trips. I’m hoping and praying you are spurred on to do the same. Like me, you’ll come home in possession of the greatest of treasures, “Rubys” and “Gems”, that money can’t buy but God wants to give you.
Uplifted in a Broken Down World 