Hannah Grace was my co-conspirator today. She had dance class this afternoon. We needed to go to Wal-Mart and pick up a few household items. While we were there, we bought 2 boxes of baby wipes. Then, we talked about where we might put them. We decided against Wal-Mart because if someone forgot them there, they could just buy some more. Hannah Grace and I decided to put them in the restrooms at the hospital. We figured that might be a place where people would go and forget wipes. The hospital is bad enough without a dirty diaper and no wipes. Dirty diapers are bad enough, but throw in the no wipes situation and you have a mess.
We decided to write a note to put on the box of wipes. I wrote, "In case you you forgot yours- Jesus loves you. I showed Hannah Grace what I wrote and she said, "Aww, you took what I was going to write." I told her we could write the same thing, but she disagreed. After a few minutes, here's what she came up with, "Got wipes? Just in case, Jesus sent some for you." I like hers better. I put mine in the men's restroom and Hannah Grace put hers in the women's restroom. That seemed to be the best plan.
A dirty diaper with no wipes is a real emergency
We hope the wipes come in handy for someone. One of the things about giving is that you don't know how people will respond to it. Some people might be offended if you try to give to them. This has happened to me very seldom. We might give to someone that doesn't really appreciate it. Don't feel too bad, Jesus gave His life for a bunch of folks who don't appreciate it. Some feel like they want to give to someone who deserves it. I do want to be wise in my giving, but Jesus died for a bunch of folks who did not deserve it; like everybody.
If we give, God can do something very cool with it. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:6, "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." The context of that verse is giving. If we give a lot, God has a lot of opportunities to do something very cool with it.
Here's a story I read recently in a book titled "I Like Giving" by Brad Formsma-
It was a hot, uncomfortable day in the middle of summer.
Road construction had shut everything down to one lane, and cars were backed up
for miles on both sides. Tempers were flaring in front of us and behind us, and
the rising temperatures didn’t help a lick. After waiting nearly forty-five
minutes, my wife and I pulled up to the flag lady— the lucky construction
worker in charge of keeping all these ornery drivers at bay. That’s when I
rolled down the window, letting in a stream of humid summer air. “How you doin’
ma’am?” I asked politely. The flag lady responded with a wipe of her wrinkled
brow and the thickest country accent I’d ever heard. “Honey, I’m doin’ fine!
You been waitin’ a long time?” “Why, ma’am, it ain’t too bad,” I said, trying
to be friendly. “Well, I’m glad you the one pulled up here,” she said,
exasperated. “They’ve been people pullin’ up here cussing me, flippin’ me off,
and I can’t do anything but my job!” “Ma’am, you know what? You’re doing a
great job,” I said. “What’s your name?” “Honey, my name is Crazy Cathy,” she
said. “Everybody calls me that!” “Well, Cathy, it’s nice to meet you.” I
laughed. “I’m Billy Moore. Cathy, do you live around here?” “Oh yeah!” she
exclaimed . “I live around here. My kids live with me; my grandkids live with
me.” I learned a lot about Cathy over the next few minutes, and all the while
my wife listened patiently to the conversation. I couldn’t imagine being a
hardworking grandmother with kids and grandkids living at home, out here on the
hottest days, holding signs and waving flags. With my right hand I signaled
with a rub of my thumb against two fingers for my wife to get out a little
money. Cathy didn’t notice, but my wife handed me a twenty-dollar bill. “Well, honey,
looks like it’s about time for me to let you come through here!” Cathy said
brightly. “Hope you have a good day!” I said , “ Cathy, I hope you have a great
day! And I have something the Lord wants me to give you.” I reached my hand out
the window and handed Cathy the twenty-dollar bill. I was not prepared for what
happened next. First, Cathy dropped her Stop sign. Then she jumped up on the
running board of our truck, leaned in, put both arms around me, and planted a
kiss right on my lips. Then she jumped back, grabbed her pole, and flipped on
her walkie-talkie. “Alex!” she shouted into the speaker. “You be nice to this
guy in the white truck coming through. We’re eating pizza tonight because of
him.” As we rolled through the construction zone, I stared out the windshield,
still in shock. My wife broke the silence with a line we won’t soon forget.
“Honey,” she said laughing , “I never thought I would enjoy seeing another
woman kiss you.”
Grateful for the privilege to give in the abundant life,
Barry
3 things I thank God for today
1. Invention of throw away diapers
2. Jesus dying for the undeserving; yep, that's me
3. Public restrooms in the U.S. (I've tried several overseas; I like them here better)
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