Brighten Your Corner

Last week, some missionary friends of ours came to visit. I deeply enjoy the time I have with them and I'm often left with the feeling that the time I share with them is never enough. They have amazing stories to tell about what they are doing in Ethiopia and I'm captivated like a child at the movie theater for the first time.

My dear missionary friends and their family.
photo property of The Post Family
www.mymministries.org

Ahhh, missionary. The sound of the word conjures up thoughts of people traveling across the globe. People who've decided to give up the comforts of American pleasures and pack up their families and belongings to start a life anew. A life in a place where there are language barriers. A life where there is no cable TV, McDonald's, or American football. Missionaries are people who have decided that leading people to Christ is more important than their luxuries. They obediently answer a call from God to go and spread the Good News of salvation, sometimes even risking their lives.They are living out one of, I think, the most difficult commands in the Bible, denying ourselves (Mark 8:34-35).  

When I sit back and listen to my friends talk about their struggles and successes, I'm in awe of their devotion, commitment, and perseverance. They are doing exactly what Jesus instructed his disciples to do when he gave his final words before ascending into heaven. These words, called the Great Commission, told the disciples (and now all Christians) to go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20). 

Now, I have to tell you something about being friends with missionaries. I sometimes feel like I'm not as "Christian" as they are. Granted, I know they are not perfect and have strongholds just like every other person, but it looks to me like they are doing exactly what I feel I'm failing in. 

I know it is not every person's calling to go across the globe. Global missions is probably something the Yates family will never do.

So, I was struggling with the feelings of inadequacy and feeling like a small loser. The Enemy was probably holding his head back, laughing like "HA! HA! HA!, I've got you right where I want you." Then something happened. Something that at first seemed like a bad thing. Our AC went out on Friday afternoon right before Labor Day weekend.

I was almost in disbelief at the timing of it all. It was a long, difficult week for Jason and I, and this really put a damper on the weekend and it hadn't even started. I remembered other people looking for recommendations about various things like babysitters and home repairs on Facebook. So I went online to ask for a recommendation and within minutes, people were giving me phone numbers of various companies they used. 

I called one company and was excited they could come out on such short notice. The nice gentleman showed up at 4:30 pm on Friday and of course, he could not order the blower motor we needed until Tuesday, which meant no AC for us until Tuesday or maybe even Wednesday.

So I began to pray. I know to some of you may think it's silly to pray for cold air, but I thought of a verse Jenna learned in school this same week, "Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 NKJV)." Notice this says all your cares, not just the ones you perceive would be of importance to God. I reasoned if God really wants me to cast all my cares, it couldn't hurt to throw this AC thing up to Him. So, I stood right there in the garage, looking up at the attic where the unit is located, and prayed over the AC unit. 

Right after walking in from the garage, I went to my Facebook page and saw that a friend of ours left a comment reminding me of a guy, we'll call him Wally, that my husband's workplace employs for their heating and cooling needs. We called Wally and he said he would be out first thing Saturday morning, even though it was his day off.

Wally traveled to get the part we needed, got here early on Saturday morning, and had our AC up and running within two hours. Thank you Jesus!

In the meantime, we got five offers from friends in our church family to come over at various times on the long weekend, so we wouldn't have to endure the hot, humid ninety degree weather.

We ended up at the beach on Labor Day!

We didn't accept any of our friends' offers, but their generosity taught me a valuable lesson. I don't have to travel across the globe to help someone or to be the hands of Jesus. I say this in no way to minimize global missions, because missions is of massive importance. Rather, I'm suggesting that maybe the Enemy uses guilt or feelings of inadequacy to cause us to be ineffective and not help people right where we are.   

Sometimes we can sit around waiting for an opportunity or waiting for God to give us a big sign of what we should do next, when what He really wants us to do is to focus on being obedient in our daily encounters and daily relationships. 

There are so many needs that need to be met today, so many people hurting that need us to show them Jesus' love. This hymn, "Brighten the Corner Where You Are", beautifully encourages that we can be "light" and hope right now, right where we are.

       Do not wait until some deed of 
          greatness you may do,
       Do not wait to shed your light afar;
       To the many duties ever near you
          now be true.
       Brighten the corner where you are.
                                                                       
                                         I.D. Ogden, 1913

I feel so blessed and thankful to have a church family and friends that showed me the love of Jesus on that hot, Friday afternoon. It may not have seemed like a big deal to them to extend their kindness, but it meant a huge deal to me. Thank you friends for brightening my corner.


Dear Lord, Thank you for my corner, where you've placed me and for the friends that reached out to me when I was struggling. I confess I sometimes worry and fret about my purpose. Give me eyes to see the needs around me and help me to be obedient to meet those needs, no matter how small I perceive them to be. In Jesus' Name, Amen.