Stepping out in RED shoes
- Day 18 -
Several weeks ago, while cleaning, I came across a drawer filled with all sorts of miscellaneous electronics:
old cell phones, chargers, wires of various sizes, head sets, a radio, a mini note book -- the list goes on and on. That's the drawer where I put all the stuff that I don't understand, don't use, but am afraid to throw out -- just incase it's important. Since I hadn't opened that drawer for years, I figured it was safe to get rid of all the stuff in it.
old cell phones, chargers, wires of various sizes, head sets, a radio, a mini note book -- the list goes on and on. That's the drawer where I put all the stuff that I don't understand, don't use, but am afraid to throw out -- just incase it's important. Since I hadn't opened that drawer for years, I figured it was safe to get rid of all the stuff in it.
A good friend of mine -- James -- loves to tinker around with electronics, especially phones. Phones that some people discard thinking they are useless, he fixes and resells. He's a mastermind when it comes to that! That said, I decided to gift James with my box of goodies hoping that he might be able to find some gems in what looked like a pile of rubbish to me. "I'm going to throw all this stuff out!" I said.
"Do whatever you want with it. It's yours!"
"Do whatever you want with it. It's yours!"
"Come on! Get dressed.
Let's go for a prayer walk!"
I just love it when the Holy Spirit nudges me to do something! When that happens, I don't have to go looking for God or wonder if He's going to show up for what I want to do. All I have to do is follow Him. Immediately, I threw on my sweatpants and RED sneakers, grabbed my visor and sunglasses, and out the door I went for a walk in the neighborhood with God. What a glorious time we had!
It was during this walk together, that God reminded me of the box.
We had quite a chat about
the contents of that box!
Who would have thought that God was into electronics -- let alone that He'd take on the challenge of dispelling the mystery of it all to me? LOL.
James got such a kick out of one of the old, archaic phones he discovered. It's basically useless now, but because it was so unique in it's time, it fostered appreciation and warm memories for him. Sometimes I feel that way when it comes to the move of God and evangelism. There are methods and tools of old, that were great in their day, but... they don't cut it anymore.
Today, they may be out of style and ineffective, but nonetheless, I can remember using them, in my youth, to witness to people and have treasured stories of people giving their lives to Christ because of them. Today, though -- no way! They don't work!God reminded me of the importance of clearing the way for new, innovative tools and methods to reach the lost.
Also in that box was an old Bose radio. It was a nice piece of equipment in its day, but when James and his dad opened it up -- in hopes to repair it -- they discovered that an integral part of the electronics had melted away. It wasn't something that could be fixed or replaced. It was all used up! It's life was over. Surely God is telling me that some
of my old ways are over and done with!
It's time to toss them!
Now there was one device, in particular, that James and his dad wanted to point out to me. It was a blue tooth. They were amazed to find such a thing, and thought I might have put it in the box by mistake. It appeared to be brand new.
"Yeah, I tried it once and didn't like it." I told them.
"To be honest, I didn't really know how to use it!"
"No... you don't understand, this is a nice
device, not to mention, very expensive.
We can show you how to use it." they insisted!
For a moment that got my attention, but I could also see that the dad was excited, because it was a useful tool for his business. I love it! I had stumbled upon an opportunity to give "The Perfect Gift!" (Day 16)
"You keep it and use it!" I insisted.
"I didn't want it when I bought it,
and I don't want it now! It's yours!"
I got more joy out of just knowing that little device - that had been sitting in my drawer for a couple years doing nothing -- was finally going to be used!
Finally, we all had a laugh over a mini-notebook that was sitting in a box, never opened. "Where did you get that?" James asked me. I wasn't quite sure, but I think it was a free gift for taking a survey. At first glance, James thought he had found a treasure. But when he took it out of the box and began playing with it, he discovered that it's operating system had insufficient capacity to run the applications on it. Some things are just duds, I guess. They look good on the outside, but they don't work - period!
So here's the real topper. After talking about all that with the Lord, I sensed that He wanted to do something. I couldn't quite figure out what, so I pulled off the path to give God my full attention. I took the earbuds out of my ears, and shut off the worship music I was listening to.
I left the music off, began walking and just listened to the quiet all around me. I wasn't sure what God was doing, but He said to be quiet, so I obeyed. Right as I turned the corner at the 3 mile marker, the Lord announced, "That's it! It's done!"
"What's done?" I asked.
"I've uploaded your new operating system.
Now you have greater capacity for ministry!
There's all sorts of things you were unable
to do or even conceive of that you can do, now."
"Really Lord?" I responded in amazement.
"Yes, you've been upgraded!"
How great is that? I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see the what this baby can do! He didn't give me a manual, so my guess is that He'll be training me in the prayer closet, as well as taking me out for some on-the-job training.
It's going to be an interesting year, stepping out in RED shoes!
Gail
"Yeah, I tried it once and didn't like it." I told them.
"To be honest, I didn't really know how to use it!"
"No... you don't understand, this is a nice
device, not to mention, very expensive.
We can show you how to use it." they insisted!
For a moment that got my attention, but I could also see that the dad was excited, because it was a useful tool for his business. I love it! I had stumbled upon an opportunity to give "The Perfect Gift!" (Day 16)
"You keep it and use it!" I insisted.
"I didn't want it when I bought it,
and I don't want it now! It's yours!"
I got more joy out of just knowing that little device - that had been sitting in my drawer for a couple years doing nothing -- was finally going to be used!
The right tool in the right person's
hand is priceless!
That same tool, in the wrong person's hand,
is rendered useless.
Finally, we all had a laugh over a mini-notebook that was sitting in a box, never opened. "Where did you get that?" James asked me. I wasn't quite sure, but I think it was a free gift for taking a survey. At first glance, James thought he had found a treasure. But when he took it out of the box and began playing with it, he discovered that it's operating system had insufficient capacity to run the applications on it. Some things are just duds, I guess. They look good on the outside, but they don't work - period!
So here's the real topper. After talking about all that with the Lord, I sensed that He wanted to do something. I couldn't quite figure out what, so I pulled off the path to give God my full attention. I took the earbuds out of my ears, and shut off the worship music I was listening to.
"Just walk and be quiet for a bit, Gail.
I need to do something."
"What's done?" I asked."I've uploaded your new operating system.
Now you have greater capacity for ministry!
There's all sorts of things you were unable
to do or even conceive of that you can do, now."
"Really Lord?" I responded in amazement.
"Yes, you've been upgraded!"
How great is that? I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see the what this baby can do! He didn't give me a manual, so my guess is that He'll be training me in the prayer closet, as well as taking me out for some on-the-job training.
It's going to be an interesting year, stepping out in RED shoes!
Gail
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