Because He Loves Me

Yesterday my right hand hero man went with me up to the market.
We stopped first at the "Yarn Shop" (I'll have to get a picture of that for you sometime!), to pick up a crochet hook and some yarn for one of my students. (Did I mention that I am teaching a crochet class to the High School Deaf Girls?)  Then we had to go see Rosie.  No trip to the market is complete without stopping by to see Rosie!  Who is Rosie?  Rosie is the lady who sells fruit.  She is an expert at picking out the exact fruit you want - just tell her if you want it for today (ripe and ready to eat), or for tomorrow or the next day (not quite so ripe).  She especially loves my children!  She always has an orange or a banana ready for each of us when she sees us coming! (Another picture I should get for you!) After buying some bananas and savoring the oranges she gave us, we said "Ciao!" (Traditional Peruvian good-bye), and continued on our way.  We were finished with our shopping and  were headed back out to the street to walk home.  Ian chattered as we walked along looking at different "shops" and stepped around sleeping dogs.  On our way out, we passed a "Plant Shop."  I just had to stop - I love plants and flowers, even though I'll probably never win the "Most Successful Gardener" or the "Gardener of the Year" award!  The lady had all kinds of plants and flowers - and to my great joy - SEEDS!  I was so excited to see those seeds!  I didn't buy any at that moment, but decided I would certainly return to make a purchase.  Ian and I looked at and admired all the flowers and plants.  Suddenly, Ian pointed to a particular flower and said, "Mommy, I would like to buy that flower for you, because I love you!  Can you call Daddy and ask him if I can?"  Ohhhh!!!!  Talk about your heart melting right into a puddle at your feet!

Well, what else could I do except call Daddy?!  So we called Daddy and Daddy told him that if it wasn't too much, Ian could by the flower for Mommy.  We went back to the "Flower Shop" and Ian showed the lady which plant he wanted.  He gave her the money, and we started for home - very pleased with our purchase.  On the way home, Ian told me the flower was because he loves me and for my Spiritual Birthday (which isn't until August, but that's okay with me!)

So my beautiful plant is sitting in a place of honor - right between my coffee things and my tray of spices!  It is right where I can see it from any place in the kitchen or when I look behind me while I sit at the desk working on the computer!  It is my special reminder of how much I am loved.  It is a reminder to continually pray for my little son - that he would always be so thoughtful and so loving to those around him.  

This month I have been studying Psalm 18.  Wow!  What a "truck-load of blessings" that has been!  I found myself thinking about all the things God does that David listed in that chapter.  Did you know that 2 Samuel 22 is almost identical to Psalm 18?  And when you read 2 Samuel 21, you understand exactly why David wrote chapter 22, which also became Psalm 18.  Then you fast-forward to Romans 8, which tells us "we are more than conquerors"!  See what I mean?  As I was thinking this morning about all those wonderful things God did for David, and does for me (and you - if we'll just let Him!), I find myself asking, "Why?"  The answer is so simple.....

Because He Loves Me!

A Testimony of Love

   As I sat across from *Tabitha, I found myself marveling at God's goodness in her life.  She sat at my kitchen table sharing her life and testimony with me.  She then told me a story that touched my heart and convicted me at the same time.
   She told me of a day before she was saved - the day she met a Christian lady.  The lady knew Tabitha's mom - knew her mom had been praying for the salvation of her daughter.  Tabitha told me how this lady had given her a hug and told her, "I love you."  She continued her story by telling me how strange this seemed to her - a lady she didn't know telling her she loved her.  As Tabitha continued, she shared some of her past.  She told me how the lady's words had affected her.  She had heard those words from people in the world, but this time was different.  She explained how she could sense that this "I love you" was different - these words were sincere - they held weight - and they lingered in her heart and mind long after they had been spoken.  Tabitha told me how odd she had felt - how strange it was that every time she met this lady, the lady would give her a hug and say, "I love you."  She told me that this lady was the first person she had ever met in her entire life that had spoken those words to her - and meant it.  She went on to share how she had gotten saved at a Youth Meeting.  She told me how the first three messages had little affect on her heart.  then she head the fourth message.  It was on the theme of "Love."  "Hmmm," she had thought.  "How interesting…was this not the same thing that lady kept saying to her?"  God used that message to convict her heart.  She hesitated, then decided - she would accept Christ as her Saviour.  Like a modern-day Mary Magdalene, she accepted the unconditional love of the Saviour.  She placed her faith in Him as her Redeemer.  She was saved, and from that moment on her life was changed.  She is now a trophy of grace - determined to follow her Saviour, and never go back to the mire of the world.
   I sat there, listening to her story, mesmerized by this young woman's testimony of love in action.  I sat there convicted.  I was convicted for all the times when I have failed to show Christ's love to the lost.  I was convinced of the difference the words "I love you" could make in the life of someone drifting in a world of sin.  I sat there with tears in my eyes - challenged by the thought of how much that lady loved Tabitha.  The lady had known nothing of Tabitha's past, yet she said, "I love you."  Because of Tabitha's mom, the lady had only known that Tabitha needed Christ and needed someone to show her the love of Christ.  I found myself wondering what kind of influence I could have on the lost world around me, simply by showing Christ's love and saying to the unloveable, "I love you" - and meaning it.
*Name has been changed.