Showing God's love like He does, by caring about others!

Today is Tuesday, May 5, 2009 and it's a good day to take some time to think about and to thank God for folks in your life that are a blessing to you. That shouldn't be too hard to do, especially with mother's day coming up this next Sunday. But how about some people outside of your immediate family circle that are close to you and that you enjoy having fellowship with? That word fellowship is not one you hear much today but I can remember the old preachers saying you can always remember its meaning by the word itself: two fellows in the same ship. Here at the company where I work there are some really neat people that I enjoy being around. One older man who only works an abbreviated schedule likes to come in and drink coffee and visit with me for fifteen or twenty minutes before start time on the days he is here. In our times of conversation we cover a broad range of subjects from Bible to family and old times, religion, and of course some animated solving of all the political issues that might be on our front burner that day. He is a wonderful Christian gentleman and genuinely funny too and typically we end our time together by wishing each other a blessed day.

I have a brother in Christ from Spain who had attended services with our local fellowship for a couple of months when he first transferred to this area about five years ago. He now works as the chief finance person for a large Spanish Christian music company and while I have not seen him in years we exchange emails occasionally. He sends out a daily verse with an encouraging commentary and I am on his mailing list. When I do correspond with him he always reminds me that he remembers our times together in Church and he always mentions that he prays often for me and my family. This humbles me. Here we are having very little contact but he remembers to pray for me and my family! Talk about being blessed!

I have mentioned before about the wonderful African American pastor who is such a special friend to me. We have a connection and while we don't visit as often as we would like, when we do it's like we pick up mid-sentence from our last conversation. He always has a handful of items he wants to get my thoughts, ideas, and recommendations on. This just knocks me down but I thank God for the tie that binds us together and for the joy we share as brothers in Christ. There are many others who often help to brighten my day. I have the privilege of walking through the shop several times a day and it is great to be able to share a handshake with our guys here. There's also a number of jokers and we like to share a laugh or two. The reason I wanted to mention this today is to encourage us all to do what we can to look around and see what God has placed in our sphere that is most important. When we look the way He would have us to, we will see people. People matter to God and they should matter to us. When they matter to us we will seek to share ourselves and His love even if it's only in passing. In the end, we are the ones who are blessed for having built these relationships! May God bless. Amen. ....more later.