January 24 – “Volunteers”

Want to know a good way to drive yourself more than a little batty?  Gather together all your receipts in preparation for doing your taxes.  Enough?  Add the fact that more than half of them aren't there anymore.  They now live under some landfill.  Then try to put together your medical records.  From a year when you are still paying off four major surgeries.  Then add a fifth surgery to take care of a cataract.  And the records of those are roommates of the receipts.  Then contemplate whatever you are supposed to do to itemize – again – everything you lost in the flood.  Then subtract what you have replaced with insurance money.  Then … then … then thank God you have a good accountant, because there's no way you can even come close to dealing with all this.   Add in there that we're still wondering what will happen with our insurance money.  And how much we'll end up needing to finish out the house.  And whether / when the outside groups that have said they want to help will be able to get here.  That's been my day.    I have also been having some more trouble with my lower back.  By early afternoon it gets really stiff and sore.  There are some movements that set off some pretty sharp pains as well.  And I've been a real "guy" about the whole thing.  I've been keeping it to myself as much as I can.  It's the old classic, "I don't want to appear weak" scenario.  Doesn't work too well when you really are weak, though.    I was thankful, though, that the students at SCA unstacked the pews for us.  That meant all we had to do today to get the church ready was sweep, mop, and clean the bathrooms.  It didn't feel any different cleaning the church as volunteers since Chris resigned as janitor.  Especially for her.  She has a real pride in her work, and wants it to look as good as she can make it every week.    Check out these three scriptures:             1 Corinthians 10:31 – "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."    Colossians 3:17 – "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."    Colossians 3:23-25 – "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."   Father, thank you for letting me see your word in Chris's deeds.  It encourages me when I get down.  Amen.