February 20 – “Being of Value”

Today's blog entry is pretty late.  Sorry.  We went out of town and I forgot to pick up the laptop.  But here we are.  Now if I can just get on the internet when I finish we'll be all set.   Before we left town we went to check out some living room furniture someone is giving us.  It is very nice.  Nathan and I will have to pick it up next week when we have the trucks and he's off work.   The trip was to Ingleside, Texas, a town near Corpus Christi.  April's grandparents were celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary with a big shindig, and they invited us.  Mom went to Houston to spend a week or so with Jay and Fran, so we decided to go.  We almost didn't get a room in little Ingleside, though.  Seems along with the wedding anniversary, someone else was having an 85th birthday party, and there was also a big family reunion.  Ingleside was hopping, and all the hotels rooms were filled.  We finally got word of a cancellation, though.   On the way there Chris drove.  She's awesome when it comes to driving.  I watched the movie Braveheart.  I was looking for a particular clip I could use in a sermon.  I ended up watching the whole thing.  It's a 2 hour and 50 minute movie.  Took me four hours.   After we checked into the hotel we went over to April's grandparents' house.  They live right on the bay, and Nathan talked me into going fishing off their pier.  Understand, he had to really twist my arm.  We didn't catch much.  A too-small spec and a piggy.  But it was good to hang out with Nathan.  And then April's uncle joined us.  He was hilarious.  He had a very dry humor, and he entertained us with fish story after fish story.  When he went inside, Nathan said, "You know, April said he likes me, but that is the most that guy has ever talked to me."  I think he was saying something about relationship there.   Speaking of relationship, this morning I read the story of Mary of Bethany pouring the oil on Jesus' head.  The disciples got mad.  But Jesus rebuked them and said in Mark 14:6, "She has done a good work for me."  It was a very rich gift and she did a very ordinary thing with it.  But turns out, it wasn't ordinary after all.  It showed flagrant, outrageous love.  It was not about what she did for him.  It was about who she was to him.  It's not about being of use to God.  It's about being of value to him.   Father, keep me focused on my relationship with you and not what I think I should be doing for you.  Amen.