Choosing To Be Intentional

At my church we are in a series titled "Life Houses."  This series is challenging and encouraging us to get to know our neighbors.   It's all about being intentional with those around us - having open eyes to their needs, and open hearts to care and open hands to serve.  It has challenged my husband, Dan, and me, as we have lived in our home for about 6 years and we don't know any of our neighbors really well.  But, as we were singing the song at the end of service last week, as I closed my eyes, sang, and prayed, visions of familiar faces from the "medical world" that we frequent flashed through my mind. Faces, that over the years, I have seen more often than family.  Faces of those whom have seen me at my best and my worst.  Faces of those who put time, energy, effort, and thoughtfulness into both of my children's lives.  Faces of those who are my "cheerleaders" on this journey.  Faces of those who don't know Jesus as Lord and Savior.  These are the people I began praying for, the people who I must consider my neighbors.

As our church service ended that day, a women came up to Dan, Courteney, and me.  She said, "You probably don't remember me, but I did your daughter's sleep study about 4 years ago."  She looked slightly familiar, but she was exactly right, I did not remember her.  She went on to say how impacted she was by Courteney and me.  She remembered me telling her about our pending adoption of Kevin. She talked about remembering how beautiful Courteney was and how she was "dressed to the nines!" She went on to say how inspiring we were to her.  It was amazing to hear this from her, not because of the sweet, humbling compliments that she was sharing, but because my focus that day, for that test, was Courteney and only Courteney.  We had had a few terrible months with Courteney's breathing and this study was being conducted to tell us if she would need a tracheotomy and need to live on a ventilator the rest of her life - I was anxious, stressed, and Courteney-focused to say the least.  I was anything but intentional about those I would interact with during that test and overnight stay. This precious woman went on to say that she started attending our church and recently when she joined a bible study, she was sharing how impacted she was by our family - this was all without using names, but only descriptors.  As she described Courteney to her new bible study friends, one lady said to her, "You know the people you are describing go to this church"....!!!!!!!   So, when she saw us that Sunday, she came right up to us and shared all of this.  She also said that she didn't recognize me, but she recognized Courteney!

Again, this story isn't about us being great, or Courteney being sweet and beautiful.  Dan and I drove home from church that day and we were amazed that here I was in church singing and praying and telling God that I really desire to be more intentional with those that I encounter in the medical world and then this encounter happened only moments later!  The beauty though, was as I stated before, I didn't pray for that woman ahead of time, I didn't pray or desire to be intentional, but by God's grace, His mercy, and His love for this woman, He used us and allowed us to be impactful to her, despite my being unintentional and self-focused.

Ladies, how often do you "do life" with your kids - going to classroom parties, PTA meetings, doctor appointments, play dates with other families, running errands at Target or Giant Eagle - and are focused only on your kids or your own family's needs?  I do it all the time.  My kids have so many needs, they are my ministry, they are my "talents" as you have heard me share before - God has entrusted their precious lives to me.  But, my focus CANNOT only be them.  The easy answer as to why my focus CANNOT only be them, is because they are not the only ones watching my life, listening to my words, reading my body language, witnessing my patience (or impatience), experiencing my empathy (or lack of)....there is a desperate world that watches our lives in hopes of seeing something that breeds light, hope, freedom, love, faith, and truth.  As believers in Christ, we have those gifts by His Holy Spirit living in us and we have the choice each day and each moment to be intentional in using them or burying them and being self-focused.  We are moms, and our focus is often our families, and that is such a good thing.  But, the Lord often calls us away from good and offers us GREAT, RADICAL, PURPOSEFUL lives, if we will be intentional.

Ladies, I don't want to miss opportunities.  I am sure you don't either.  So, my challenge to myself and to you is to be intentional this week.  Let's get excited!  Let us commit to pray before every appointment or encounter that we will have, asking for eyes to see the unseen.  When our kids are with us, let's pray with them to be intentional with our upcoming interactions - what an awesome way to bless our children and train them!! Don't you LOVE when you get to pray according to God's will?  And we can be assured that being intentional, being on a mission, is indeed the Lord's Will!!  Ladies, if we actually do this then we can expect great things to come when our hearts are open to care, our eyes are open see, and our hands are open to serve those whom God has put in our paths!  With that intentionality we will indeed SEE how good and faithful the Lord is and our hearts will be even more aligned with His!!

A benefit of being in The Body of Christ is that we get to cheer each other in good works and we can come together (via technology) and share our victories and even our failed attempts (even a failed attempt is still an attempt, which in itself is a victory...amen!!??).  Will you join me in doing this?  Let's get Satan a little angry this week as we determine to be used for the glory of God and serve others!!!!

Please share your stories of what you saw God do as a comment on the blog, the forum, or on the Facebook page!  I look forward to hearing the victories that will take place and I will definitely share mine as well!!!  AMEN!!!!