Muwahaha! I LOVE all my new shoes!! I have 6 new pretties. And no you can't see them. Sorry. Aren't I mean? Mostly because my hubby has the 'puter that has the doohickey that you put the camera card in and her it STILL working out of town each week. (yes, that was me screaming a high pitched banshee like wail...) And cuz - all the batteries are DEAD.
I also finished 2 adorable quilts for my kid's beds - and you get no love there either. Trust me- they are A.DOR.A.BLE. really. And I thought Thing 1's was going to turn out horrid - the fabrics are LOUD but they totally work. And HE picked them! Smart boy.
Church was nice this Sunday. I totally didn't want to go. What with the whole losing an hour and all, but I got the God alarm clock installed -- and it's really reliable, and no snooze button. WHAT? You don't have the God alarm clock? That is the one that blares praise music in your head until you wake up, get your sorry self out of bed, and GO TO CHURCH FOR GOODNESS SAKE. Yeah, that one. So, anyway, mumbling and grumbling to the Big Guy - we got up and made it to church in record time. And YES, I HAD yelled at everyone in my family by the time we got to church.
And He had a plan for me that day. And Praise Him for it.
And today, He had another plan for us. We had to go to the post office today. And we ended up in line behind a Muslim woman covered from head to toe. She and I greeted each other, and I could truly HEAR the smile in her voice. I looked at my daughter and I could SEE that she had a question, and so could this woman. However when I asked Thing 2 if she had a question she didn't want to ask. The woman was very nice, and told her that Thing 2 had a pretty dress and that she liked T2's shoes. She still didn't want to ask. The woman and I ended up having the nicest conversation about our families. She asked how old the kids were, and the typical - "what grade are they in" question. And when I told her we homeschool, she told me that she did as well, and we got to talking about why we homeschool. She asked if I did it though the online schools, and I told her no, that I bought our curriculum because I wasted to use a Christian based curriculum and I felt that what was offered at the public school was not right for our family or faith. We continued to have a NICE conversation about our faith based reasons for homeschooling (she homeschools her 4 youngest - and has 2 married daughters).
She asked if I was Amish, which made me smile- because if you met me you would NEVER think that. However what that question reminded me is that just as there are differences between Christians in our interpretation of the Bible, there must also be differences in interpretation in Islam. Since I see some Islamic women who only cover their heads, and some who cover completely. I told her no, that I was not Amish, that I was Christan, as the Amish are but that Amish believers are a little different in their dress. She immediately understood, and said- "but you believe that Jesus was the Son..?"To which I replied, "Absolutely,with all my heart"
We continued to have a Grace filled conversation about our children and the struggles of homeschooling with faith in a worldly world. Having to be cautious of influences on our children. It was, to me, beautiful. Neither one of us felt the need to condemn the other for our faith, and neither one of us felt the need to justify ourselves.
It was truly Grace filled. I have no idea what other Christians have said or done, or if anything has ever been said or done, in the name of God and Jesus, to this woman and her family because of her faith. I pray that our 10 minutes showed the grace of God, and the hope that we have in the Lord.
When we got to the car, I praised the children for their behavior and talked to them about why I was happy. I talked with them about why this woman was covered and how I was proud that God used us today to show her God's grace and love. I pointed out that even though we do not have the same faith and that she did not know Jesus, that I was not mean and condemning to her, that the Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself" applies to EVERYONE. Not just to Christians.
And at bedtime, my babies prayed for her and her family, that they would know the love of God someday. My heart could burst.
Recent Comments