It was sunny and quite warm for September, so
I decided to go outside and sit under a tree during my lunch break. As I was sitting under a tree listening to
music and knitting, and enjoying time with God, a lady came up to me, and said
she wanted to be sure I was OK. Since I
had been in the same place for what seemed to her to be a long time, she
thought I might be sick and need help. I
assured her I was fine, and she went on her way. I was humbled and amazed that someone would take
the time to stop and check on me to see that I did not need help. I was also ashamed because I have seen the
lady around a few times, and had thought her to be unfriendly. As I finished my
lunch, God reminded me not to be quick to form opinions about people; to wait
and keep an open mind until I know them better before I make determinations about
their character. James says “mercy triumphs over judgment”. For me, I want to
extend mercy as often as I can. I want to keep in mind that not one of us is as
good as we can be; neither are we as bad as we can be. We are all in need of
God’s mercy. So my friends let’s choose to be as
merciful to others as God has been to us. Showing mercy is a way of extending love to others.
I’d like to tell you about a lady I visited yesterday. She is ninety-five years young. She recently moved into nursing home. She asked one of the workers how many times she would have to walk around the outside of the building in order to walk a mile. She said the person told her about ten. Then she leaned in really close and whispered, “I walked around twelve just to be sure I walked a mile.” Hahahaha! What a lady! She loves to keep active, even in a nursing home. As we talked, I saw no anger or bitterness in her speech or actions. There was only a love for God, a heart of compassion, and a sense of humor. She has befriended the one "prickly pear" at the home because as she said, “I have to love her, so she knows Jesus loves her too.” Wow!!! I need to live like that! I want to show that much compassion for those around me that need Jesus. She loved to talk about God and what he was teaching her. ...
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