Questioning My Generosity

By Mollie Bond –

I’ve got a new five-year journal; it is a resolution of sorts. The journal isn’t a bit of space to write random thoughts. Rather, each page poses a question for each day of the year.

When you finish the first year, you start over, answering each question again, until all five years have been completed. Your answers to questions like, “What did you last eat?” and “What is your motivation?” or even more challenging: “When was the last time you were generous?” will reveal developments in your life and character.

As a follower of Jesus, I should give everything. But when was the last time I had given anything? Do time and effort count? I work hard for my boss. Does that count?

The question of generosity reminded me of the last time I did something unexpected. A lady in front of me at the grocery store didn’t have enough food stamps to cover the expense of baby formula. I added her formula to my bill, and wished her a good day. I wanted to take time to share the entire gospel. However, God held me back. Generosity is simple, random, and perhaps the loudest evangelist of all. In the end, I’m answering a question in a journal, and I realized that was the last time I was spontaneous in my generosity.

Jesus had moments when He had to keep moving, but He stopped to give compassion as in Matthew 15. The woman wouldn’t let up. Motherly instincts for her sick daughter prompted her persistence. As a Gentile, she might not have been at the top of the list of people Jesus needed to see that day. She followed Jesus to get what she wanted, knowing Jesus was on a mission. When He said his priorities laid elsewhere, the woman asked for a moment of compassion. Would He pick up the tab? Would He stop in his busy day to heal her daughter, even though she wasn’t on the list? He agreed. In a moment, Jesus made an exception in the spirit of compassion and generosity.

You may not have a journal to remind you to be spontaneous and generous, but Jesus gives us a spirit of compassion. Use it.

PRAYER: I may not be good at this generosity thing, but I know you will help me. Will you show me more how to keep my eyes open for moments of giving? I’m looking for the next opportunity.

“Then Jesus answered, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour” (Matthew 15:28 NIV).

Root for the Dentist

By Mollie Bond –

Rubbing my hands, I cried in my idling car. Clinging to the dentist chair hurt my hands, and, coupled with the extra two hours for a cavity filling, I was ready for a good cry. The dentist had to re-do the same tooth three times because the filling kept popping off. Closing my eyes, I tried to dream of a far away place, and not think of the metallic taste and the “pinch” of more Novocain. Eventually, the dentist skipped the Novocain for lack of time, and the “pinch” became a sharp pain I felt in my gut.

No one likes to cry after visiting the dentist. I’ve had my share of poor experiences. The oral surgeon waited to remove my wisdom teeth because I couldn’t stop crying when they gave me the “knock-out” gas. I have what’s been deemed “slick teeth,” and it makes filling cavities fun. As fun as sitting for hours in an uncomfortable chair next to a jack-hammer in a construction zone. That’s the way it is. I have a problematic mouth.

My friend, Tina Crown, also has a problematic mouth. For years, she had one cavity. One little, teeny, tiny cavity. Not a big deal; no real problems. Tina and her husband, Todd, went to a new dentist. Neither felt surprised by the two root canals Todd needed. He often has work to be done. She went in next, expecting to hear glowing reports of her dental hygiene for the tenth year in a row. Instead, the dentist said, “Mrs. Crown, you also need a root canal.” The new dentist found a cavity under the old filling. The original cavity wasn’t completely removed and had festered for years, while she assumed her mouth was clean. Add one more crown to the Crowns’ dental budget.

What in life is problematic? What has been covered, and needs a deep cleaning? Let the Heavenly Dentist take a look around, even in those places that might hurt.

PRAYER: God, I think things are hunky-dory with my fillings, but I’m ready for a checkup. Does a hole exist underneath? Do I need to refine my daily cleaning routine? Will you take a look around? I’m ready for a root canal, even if it hurts. Thank You for wanting to help me be healthy and holy.

“My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes” (Jeremiah 16:17 NIV).

Adoption (Based on a True Story)

By Mollie Bond –

Stacy clamped onto her new adoptive mother and stared as the van gained speed down the mountainside. She didn’t cry as Colombia passed into a memory. She crusted into a stoic two-year-old. She didn’t say goodbye to her birth mother who dropped her off at the orphanage frequently. Then she would return again after a week or two. This time Stacy wouldn’t be at the orphanage.

Stacy couldn’t stop crying. After being in the United States six months, she stopped as quickly as she started. It was as if she put her anguish into a box, and hid the grief for fourteen years.

Now, a shattered Stacy sat with her parents on one side of the table; a representative from the adoption agency sat on the other side. The previous night she and her adoptive parents tried to determine what was best for Stacy’s illegitimate daughter. It came time to sign away her rights.

Stacy’s father began the meeting. “Fourteen years ago, a woman made a difficult choice. She gave her child something she couldn’t provide.” Stacy’s body went rigid with the overwhelming memories. She leaked a tear that became a rush of emotion. This anguish wasn’t satisfied with stuffing the emotions back into the depleted box. This pain refreshed her and her decision. In a moment, Stacy realized that her birth mother loved her, and that her mother did a very brave thing. She also saw the significance of her adopted parents, and their unconditional love because she now felt that same love for her new daughter. Healing began that day. Freedom brought relief from crying.

We too must grieve our former lives and realize we now live a better life under God’s care through adoption. We can welcome freedom and love as we see others being loved. Sometimes giving up circumstances or people frees us, and them, to enjoy a new situation.

Are there changes at work? Is a friend moving? Is there someone unforgiven in your life? Who in your life needs to be released? Give up treasured people so you can receive treasures from others. Hand them over to their adoptive Heavenly Father, who has a much better plan for them than you can provide.

PRAYER: Father, I’m glad You’ve taken me in as Your own. Help me to release those people and situations to You so that they can be taken into Your family. I grieve what I wanted, but know You will give something better in return. Thank You for being my Father.

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:14 NIV).

Traveling Between Blunders and Blessings

By Mollie Bond –

It was the best worst day. I traveled by myself to downtown Chicago for the first time for an interview. I sent out oh-so-many applications and resumes. This was one of two companies that called back. I put on my dry-clean only clothes, prepared my answers, and gave myself pep-talks. While on the elevated train, I got a phone call from the interviewer. They cancelled. I got off at the next stop, and started the train ride into despair.

After the train ride, I still had a 20-minute drive home. While sulking, I didn’t retrieve my paid ticket. I couldn’t get out of the garage. I didn’t have $40 for a new ticket. I kept putting my credit card into the machine, praying for the gate to let me out.

Eventually, a garage employee found me crying. I couldn’t catch my breath to tell my story. She said she’d pay my way out. A single working mom footed my bill. I couldn’t believe it, and instantly felt guilty as a single person. As that gate lifted, my spirits did too. I wanted to take a minute to thank God for this employee.

I pulled into the nearest gas station and prayed. The car jolted when a woman hit my parked car. She recently lost her job and didn’t have money to fix the “fat lip” from a previous accident on her front bumper. It bounced me off my recent rise in spirits. It was the worst of days.

After I quit wallowing, God repaired everything in one swipe. Later I got the job without the interview. I was let out of the gate without paying extra and I never again forgot to grab my paid ticket. The woman who hit me gave me job tips that I passed along to others. The car was not damaged.

Those plans and the pep-talk I gave myself that morning could not have prepared me for that day, yet God made it successful.

QUOTE: “When men have done their worst and finished, it is the time for God to begin. And when God begins He is likely, with one blow, to reverse all that has been done without Him.” F.B. Meyer

“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord” (Proverbs 21:30 NIV).

Seasons or Scenery

By Mollie Bond –

Seasons or scenery: the top two reasons I move and change jobs. I may move because I need a change of scenery, but mostly it is because I need a change of seasons.

It’s like this—a crew of Muppets comes to a fork in the road. Their decision mimics my decision. The fork the Muppets see, literally is a fork. Great for comedy, but in real life, forks have prongs that hurt, so I’m careful with my choices. I can find a job based on the scenery (where is it?), or I can find a job based on the season (what I’ll be doing).

Two signs in the fork in the road point to two directions. One sign says “move first.” If I choose scenery, it usually requires a move. I risk moving to a town I like and try to job search. I’ll walk into companies in hopes for the impromptu interview.

The other sign says, “job first.” Find the job you like, then move. That risk is to wait where I am (in search of seasons), and pour resumes into the Abyss where my resumes might also see the Abysses’ city dump.

Sometimes I’ve chosen the Abyss. (I’ve heard it’s a nice place in the fall.) Sometimes I’ve waited at my current location. Here’s where my Bible knowledge comes in handy.

God has an opinion. That opinion on whether you go or stay is straightforward. Seek Him, find Him, and then glorify Him. I first will search for Him.

Okay then. The next step after seeking Him is that I’ll find Him. Check. Then glorify Him. I can glorify Him in this scenery or this season. He is close by us no matter where we are in life. He gives us two choices of scenery or seasons so that we will “reach out for Him and find Him” (Acts 17:27). Pray lots, continue to seek Him, find Him, and glorify Him in day-to-day living. As time goes on, the answer will come, and maybe it will be both seasons and scenery.

PRAYER: God, thank You for creating both scenery and seasons. I pray no matter which situation I am in today, that I seek You, find You, and glorify You.

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27 NIV)

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