Blog Number 553
December 29, 2024
I wrote about my beautiful friend HERE who had a stroke last summer. We weren’t best friends. Marybeth had never been to my home, and I had only been to her once. But we did bible studies together and I have been surprised at how much I miss her!
My friend became closer to God through spending time learning the Bible and getting questions answered. We got closer to each other by doing so.
She cared deeply about her neighbors.
You couldn’t have a conversation with Marybeth without hearing about her neighbors. She hosted them frequently in her home and cared for them when they were sick. The last time I saw her she was making plans to take a neighbor to weekly chemo appointments. I met some of her lovely group at the funeral and left with contact information for two of her friends. Since Marybeth went to heaven last summer, I have reached out to the two friends hoping for an opportunity to mingle with the neighbors she loved. She cared about their souls so I wanted to continue that spiritual care-taking if possible. I reached out to both but nothing came from my messages. Last week I gave it one more try and the response stunned me.
My friend’s condo was sold in November!
I guess I knew her home would be sold if I had thought about it for two seconds, but I hadn’t. There was such a note of finality to the text. Marybeth has left the earth, and the world has kept on spinning. Neighborhoods, companies, ministries and churches continue on without us. The bible agrees.
What a good reminder.
“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah (Psalm 39:4-5) We need to know the measure of our days. The selling of a home is a good reminder to us all to invest our lives in things that live on long after we are gone. Invest in people. Invest in things that improve the lives of people and hopefully their eternity too.
What lives on after us is the lives we touch.
How are we doing at that? Are we sharing Jesus as we live authentically as Christians? Are we helping people gain skills that allow them to enjoy people more through healthy relationships? Are we honing skills that make the world a better place after we are gone?
Quite honestly, we can harm people too. Each of us has hurt another person many times, but we don’t want a pattern of harm to be found in us. Let’s ask the Lord to teach us to love people well.
One thing I know for sure.
Stuff depreciates. The condo was only special because Marybeth lived there. The couch has depreciated in value because she isn’t sitting on it with her precious dog. Her car depreciated in value because she is no longer behind the wheel. The meaning of my friend’s life is not found in her stuff. The stuff was only valuable because it belonged to her.
What about her neighbors?
In short, I won’t make my way into that sweet community unless I have a chance meeting with one of the ladies at some point, but probably not. God will continue to chase each lovely person without me, wooing them to Himself just like Marybeth desired and prayed. I am certain her prayers are still reverberating through her community. God heard every word, and He loves her neighbors more than she did.
Our house will sell someday too.
Some other family will have the address that currently belongs to me. Your house or condo will sell too, or your apartment will be rented by someone else. This week we pause to remember that the value of our home lies in the relationships that happened within its walls. Yes, our homes need to be cared for so the people who reside in them and the guests who visit feel comfortable, but may we always remember that the stuff itself — the house structure itself — does not change lives. Love changes lives.
May we love well.
Picture Explanation: Just some black and white photos I love. I love the people in them and the people in them love a lot.
And this is Marybeth.
Speaking of living for things that last: If you are interested in being contacted to participate in a One Gritty Blink Bible study, click on the Oaks Ministries link below and send me an email so I can place you on a list to be contacted as online and face-to-face studies are planned. Let’s not just focus on things in this short life, but also what counts for eternity!
Note: No part of my posts are derived from A.I. Thoughts and writing stem from my mind and heart as I process life week-by-week and continue to grow in my understanding of God and how to apply His wisdom to the world around me.
© 2024 by Oaks Ministries. All rights reserved.
I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes growth.
1 Corinthians 3:6
3 Responses
Hi! Is the last photo of Marybeth? Thanks for the great reminder about what really matters! Recently, as I packed up for a move, I fretted, was anxious and irritated. I said to myself a couple of times, “If you didn’t have all this stuff to organize, you wouldn’t be fretting. These are First World problems! These are problems that most people in the world don’t have because they don’t have all this stuff.” This thinking didn’t help a whole lot in terms of my fretting, but it did give me perspective and that’s a good thing. Anyway, yes, people are what matters! Not the stuff! I am reminded of the VeggieTales Madame Blueberry episode about the Stuff Mart. If only we truly learned these lessons as children!
It is hard living in a First World and consumer culture and let the truth of “stuff” sink into our hearts and heads. I understand the struggle and am in it. I am so grateful I get these life prompts. Thanks for sharing one of yours.
I don’t have picture of Marybeth but your question prompted me to find one online and add it. Thank you.
Lovely classic Laurie post: true, eternity focused, and genuine! And the picture of you with your honey is my most favorite!! I love the picture of prayers continuing to reverberate in Marybeth’s neighborhood.