Yardman

I stood, looking out of the window from a second floor dentist office while I waited for my appointment. The day was clear and yard men were sprucing up the grounds. But there was one yardman in particular who continued to catch my attention. It was the weed eater guy. He went around those curves in a brisk walk, with such ease and managed to not only carry the cutting tool but he kept it, from what I could see, perfectly centered between the grass and curb without the least bit of hassle. His eyes were protected by goggles, his weed eater... gas powered, and you could tell he was quite experienced at his task. The curbs were perfectly manicured and trimmed when he finished. Amazing the difference it made to trim off the excess, slightly overgrown grass. The yard had already been mowed and this was the final touch. It was the finishing touch...that put the exclamation on the rest of the work. The job was complete and the grounds surrounding the building were clean and well cared for....until next week!

There are two main points here....the first is that we all have gifts and abilities and talents that others do not. But too often we take the gifts of others for granted. We get into this critical mode of reference, OK, maybe I should say "I" get in that mode...and instead of appreciating the things that others do...I criticize either what was done or the method by which it was done. What if God did that to me on my every move? I would be flattened by self conscious defeat and would be leery to ever try something new thinking ..."What is the point?"....I will never get it right. I have been one to dish that criticism out as well as to receive it....I am sure you have too! But just watching this yardman, and evaluating his skillful practice of weed eating....it was a learned and practiced skill. He was willing, he was able and he stepped out ....maybe in necessity or maybe just in purpose....but he has become accomplished in his trade.

That is all that God asks of us...be willing to try. Christ is not a God of criticism, rather a God of encouragement. He calls on us to use the gifts that he has given to us, and be willing to be trained in the ones that aren't so obvious. He also calls us to be encouragers...and to seek out His good in others....as well as ourselves. We are generally pretty good about finding even our own faults...but when was the last time you let God help you evaluate the strengths that he has given to you for his purposes?

The second point is this: The follow through....the finishing touch! Have you ever noticed that when you earnestly seek Christs' will and his way for something...anything...that so often times he gives us even more than we had expected. He puts His finishing touch on that that we have offered to Him. An example here is a Bluebird luncheon that I recently attended. Gina, the chairman had made arrangements for doctors and a mom to come and speak to their clinic members and invited visitors about Battens disease, a degenerating neurological disease which effects children and the research that is being done to find a cure. It was one of those cold, freezing, weather days when we had the blackouts and stuff. This was her partial reply to a note that I had sent her...

"As I dressed in the dark after a cold shower....I realized that God is totally in control and He would bring who ever was supposed to come....everyone came...apparently it was one of the best "Know Your Clinic" meetings ever....I thought maybe two people would come, but God brought over a hundred....the guest speaker, Melinda, the mom of two Batten ridden children, barely made it after being lost for a while...coming from Cypress....overwhelming odds....something interesting: the flowers cost 400.00 + tax....after selling the flowers, eggs and bunnies we collected 415.00 dollars....yes, beyond measure every time we let God take control....yesterday we were forced to comply with arrangements that had already been made...and in spite of the circumstances and Christ hit a home run.

She used her gifts of organization and networking and a sincere heartfelt love of people to begin a task in faith ...that God would put his finishing touches on. That is all God wants us to do....to just "try" and "trust"....HIM! He will provide...all that we need to complete His task. Whether it is courage, strength, wisdom, know how, motivation....or just pure determination...God will give us all that we need.

He will use whatever gifts or talents that we bring unto Him for His glory and for His purposes. He will train us so that we will have the abilities that we can use to serve him, to be His vessel to help unify and build up His kingdom...all we must do is to sincerely offer ourselves unto Him for His service. When we do, he will help us to have the strength to carry our gifts and find a perfect balance between the curbs (the hard spots) and the grass ( the slightly overgrown distractions) and then put his final touches upon the blessings that he has bestowed.

He was not just a yardman...he was one of God's guys (of course I don't know His standing with the Lord...but I do know God made him) who was putting into motion a gifted ability...he was doing a job that he had been trained to do....that others of us do not know how to do...but isn't that who we are....just children of God who are called to put into motion the gifts that we have been blessed with both those of natural bent and those that we learn? It is not so much about who we are and what we have....for each of us have been given lots of somethings that we are able to contribute to God's kingdom.

IT IS ABOUT what we allow Christ to do with who we are and what we have. And with this I have to ask myself ...Have I honestly accepted his appointment of service...to do with me and with what I have.... as He pleases? I think of that yardman...and the vision of him using his ability and his weed eater to trim off the rough edges to clarify the line between curb and grass... ...and think....am I and using the tools that God has given me? Am I allowing him to use me as his servant...to clean up the rough edges of my life and clarify my path?

1 Timothy 1:12
[ The Lord's Grace to Paul ] I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.

Next time you are driving around and see a yardman doing his job...remember that you too have gifts that God can and does use for His purposes to care for and build up His kingdom. Give CHRIST what you've got and he will bless you with his finishing touch!

Dear Lord, We all have been given talents and abilities and gifts to be used for your purposes. Train us...to seek them, identify them, and use them for your glory! Amen

Reading over this...it is hard to not go off on a "weed" eating tangent...that will be for another day. Are there weeds that are creeping in on your clarity?

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!