Finally, all of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds. I Peter 3:8

I recently saw a rerun of a Cosby Show episode titled “The Visit”. Theo has a friend in the hospital who has cancer. Theo fears visiting him telling his friends he would not know what to say to his friend. Finally Theo goes to the hospital and Theo confesses this fear to his friend. “Stop making conversation and talk to me, talk to me like we’re sitting at your house” his friend replies.

Visiting someone in the hospital is often difficult making the patient and the visitor uneasy.  Don’t just make conversation, talk! Talk to the person as if you were sitting in your home sharing a glass of tea and confidences. 

As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you….  Isaiah 66:13

 I was blessed this month with the arrival of my new granddaughter.  So sweet and innocent, I enjoyed holding her close as I prayed for God’s love to blanket her throughout her life.  I knitted her a teddy bear and looked over at her mother, my daughter. I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I grew up I put childish ways behind me.” 

No, I am no longer a child but I do try to remain “like a child”. Though I have taken on grown up ways and responsibilities I must remember to “become like a little child that I may enter the gates of heaven” (see Matthew 18).   I will  be humble and seek God’s will and guidance in all I do.   I will seek God for my comfort just as my grandchild seeks comfort from her mother.  Like a child I will be  trusting of God, I will believe His teaching and follow His instruction.

My teddy bear reminds me to be “like a child”. As a child I held tight to my teddy bear; I took it with me wherever I went and I confided my deepest hurts and secrets to him. I may still hold onto a teddy bear now but my confidences are placed in God.

What about you? Whether you are 6, 60 or 106 you are still a child of God. Are you leaning on Him or upon your own way?  I can hold my grandchild and play and love but then I return her to her mother. I am not the one with the full responsibility of her growing up. God has no grandchildren!! We are all His children, brother of Jesus Christ, direct heirs to Him. John 3:16 tells us “For God so loved the world He gave His only Son, that whosoever believe in Him shall have everlasting life.”

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up  I Thes 5:11

An ENCOURAGING Idea:   Do you need a teddy bear to serve as reminder to you that you are a child of God and in that manner you are to be like a child? While we are to encourage others, sometimes we need encouragement ourselves.

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Aaron and Hur held his hands up–one on one side, one on the other– Exodus 17:12

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water?”  Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.
If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

That’s how it is with our pain, stress, and burdens. When faced with a situation we can look at it and say “I can handle this” but as time goes on it begins to weigh us down until it can become crippling. Burdens can come from a simple misunderstanding or a tragedy. It doesn’t matter that origin or the size, it can become increasingly heavy if we hold tight to it.

Some ways to reduce the heaviness is to share it with a close friend who will be supportive and non-judgmental; do something for someone else in pain, focusing your thoughts and efforts outward instead of inward; pray to God for His peace and understanding and to help you rest in Him.

Exodus 17:8-13 (see text below)tells the story of a battle Joshua led the Israelites against the Amalekites. During the battle whenever Moses held up his hands to the Lord the Israelites are winning the battle, but when he is tired and unable to hold his hands up they are losing in the battle.  Aaron and Hur come alongside Moses and hold his hand up until the Amalekites are defeated.  

Like Moses, go to God in prayer, bring in a prayer partner to keep you focused on the Lord.  Lay your burden down and rest physically, emotionally and spiritually so that you may know God’s peace in all circumstances.

Exodus 17:8-13    The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.  Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”  So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.  As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.  When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up–one on one side, one on the other–so that his hands remained steady till sunset.  So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.   John 13:14

Today I enjoyed a morning of pampering with a spa pedicure.  I sat in the comfortable chair with my feet in hot water, my warm tea in hand. I looked down at the woman washing my feet. (I had already showered so they weren’t in such bad shape to start with).  She pulled each foot from the water onto which she poured soap then gently washed them and patted them dry.

I was reminded of the story in John 13 where Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Walking around in sandals on dusty streets was not particularly clean. (These men didn’t take a quick shower to clean up before they sat down to eat.)  Jesus, their Lord and Master stood up, wrapped his outer clothing around his waist and then filled a bowl with water and knelt at the feet of each of his disciples, even Judas Iscariot, whom had already made plans to betray him. This was a servant’s job!! Not something to be done by one they worshipped.

I paid the woman who cared for me, she offered up her services to me but Jesus knelt as a servant.  We are all servants. No one can reach so high as one who stoops to help someone in need. “Now that I have washed your feet, wash one another’s feet”. 

 Kneel down and offer help to someone, even if you are the teacher.

Click here to read the entire text.