The tornado relief effort

Well before dawn this morning, I headed out to meet my family in Starkville. We were going as a group to volunteer with the tornado/disaster relief effort in Louisville MS.  After Katrina, I had done manicures on victims of the storm. It was a soothing touch and gave me a chance to hear their stories and pray with them. That moment of calm and hope in the midst of utter destruction was very effective, and greatly appreciated. I had my manicure kit packed, fully expecting to do the same thing again.  

Today, we arrived at the volunteer processing tent, and it was immediately apparent that I'd be working there today. Workers had been there for days, they were exhausted, and not everyone had eaten breakfast. It was a little tense in the tent. They were very surprised when I announced that I was working with them. "We don't need any help," someone said. I just laughed and bossed my way in. "Oh yes, you do. I'm bringing peace and sunshine to this situation here!" I said. I'm not sure they knew what to think, but they let me stay. 

A fresh perspective really was helpful, and pretty soon everyone was laughing and sharing their stories with me. This was the most incredible group of people you can imagine, and I am humbled to have been in their presence. 

The Knights of Columbus are coordinating the volunteer registration, and they are the sweetest bunch of men of every age you will ever meet. Jen is a volunteer from Food Corp. She has put her own project on hold to take care of a greater need and has been working all week coordinating volunteers. Miss Susie has also been working for days. She's retired and volunteers quite a bit. She has a servant's heart and never stopped serving. 

Aaron is a young man I would adopt in an instant. He is with Team Rubicon and I will blog about them later. Suffice it to say, this young man's passion has touched my heart. He intends to change the world and he's doing a good job of it. When a woman was sobbing her eyes out over her unbelievable losses, I hugged her and prayed for her. Aaron was standing in line right next to me for his turn to hug her and offer help. His passion and kindness were breathtaking. When I saw this twenty-one year old student hug that sobbing woman, I thought to myself, "I want to partner with this young man. We CAN make a difference!" He, of course, doesn't need me to accomplish his mission in life, but I hope to somehow help him along his way. 

There were more wonderful volunteers than I can relate tonight. There will be more stories to come. There are more needs to meet. 

It was a tiring day. It was emotionally exhausting. It was, however, one of those great days you never forget. I saw people from all across this country come together for one purpose: to help those in need. With servant hearts that beat as one, that's exactly what we did. 

Why don't you join us next time? You will be so glad you did. 

The walking miracle

Somehow, I have digitally misplaced  the Friday Night with Friends post. It is saved to the blog file, but I can't find it there. While I'm retrieving it, I've decided to tell you about an experience I had today.

I had delayed much needed errands because of the storm.  However, because of the storm, I needed to run those errands to have supplies to take with me to Louisville tomorrow.  I'm meeting my family in Starkville and we are going as a group to help with the disaster relief effort. 

One of my stops was at Sam's, which was incredibly busy. I finally managed to find a self-check line with only two people in it. For some reason, the guy in front of me peeled off and ended up in a longer line. This was not at all sensible, as he was next in the line to check out. Regardless, he left me next in line, and I was grateful.  

The man checking out had some sort of problem with the machine and a very nice lady came to help. She ended up doing his self-check for him. As she did, she was talking to him and his wife. Someone said something about not being able to count on machines and the helpful, happy lady said, "Oh honey, there is no sense in putting yo' trust in a machine!  I'll tell you what. You best be putting yo' trust in God Himself. I can say that because I am a WALKING MIRACLE!" This lady was thrilled to be a WALKING MIRACLE and she wanted everyone to know. She was marvelous! 

I was interested to know what kind of miracle she was, and she was happy to share, as she self-checked me out, too. Two months ago, she had a heart attack, followed by a blood clot, followed by a clot in her lungs and so many other complications that I was just astonished. In the period of eight short weeks, she had experienced a heart attack, more complications than three or four people combined could've expected, recovered, and made it back to work. By the time she finished her story, I was speechless. From a medical standpoint, it was simply amazing. Her smiling face and her healthy appearance added support to her claim of WALKING MIRACLE. 

I recommend everyone going to Sam's in Tupelo just to meet this nice lady and hear her marvelous testimony. She is the best! This lady not only understands what God has done for her, and is grateful, but she also wants to be sure He gets ALL the credit. She's telling everyone she sees. 

The thing about walking miracles is that being saved by the mercy and grace of God makes us WALKING MIRACLES, too. Every one of us should be just as excited about what God has done in us as that sweet lady is about how He has healed her. We should be telling everyone we meet, and giving God every bit of the credit. 

Just in case you haven't heard me say this before, I am also one of those WALKING MIRACLES!  God saved and cleansed me from more sin than three or four people should have gotten into, and He is constantly having to work on me to keep Me straight. The good news is that you can put your trust in Him to do the same for you! 

How about it? Are there any more WALKING MIRACLES out there? 

Just Say the Word

Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." (Luke 7:6-8 NASB)

The only way to get the full flavor of the centurion's message to Jesus is to read it in it's entirety, rather than parse out the sections.  Let's set the scene first. Jesus had just finished a preaching trip and returned home to Capernaum. He was settling down, when some of the Jewish elders arrived and asked Him to go with them to a Roman centurion's house to heal a gravely ill servant. There were many things about this request that interested Jesus, so He headed toward the sick man. He was almost to the centurion's house when a group of the centurion's friends arrived with a new message. 

The centurion had been thinking about authority. He knew that, as a Roman officer, what he commanded was done. There was not a struggle about it. He said it, and it happened. The centurion could recognize a fellow officer by the air of authority in their manner and the results when they spoke. He saw that same authority in Jesus. When He gave a command, it was carried out. The centurion didn't necessarily understand it, but he could see it clearly, and he knew that all Jesus had to do was say the word of healing, and it would be done. 

The centurion also recognized that his own authority was not dependent upon his proximity to the place of implementation. He did not have to be in a spot for his orders to be carried out there. If Jesus had as much authority as the centurion, and he believe that He did, then proximity to the servant was not needed for healing. It was one of those "Ah ha!" moments, and very exciting. Immediately, the centurion sent a friend to Jesus. "Don't come," he said. "Just say the word and my servant will be healed." 

Was the centurion running a test to see if this was right? No, of course not. He highly valued his servant, so he was taking no chances. He was acting upon what he knew at the deepest point in his heart. He knew Jesus could do what was needed, and from watching Jesus heal all who came to Him, he knew He not only could heal his servant, but also that He would. 

I wonder if we come to Jesus with that certainty when we pray. Do we understand with such assurance that God not only hears our prayers but never fails to answer them?  If we did, perhaps we would be bolder in approaching Him with needs, both our own and the needs of those around us. With a word, just one word, He can do what needs to be done.  We serve a mighty God. He can handle anything that comes our way. 

Today, pray for certainty. Pray that we will know for certain that our God hears and answers our prayers. Pray, too, that He will speak a word of healing for all our loved ones and heal the place that keeps them from Him.  

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Link for last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/05/mustard-seeds.html

Mustard Seeds

There are piles of old stories, transcripts of old talks, and manuscripts of books not-yet-published in a very large stack next to my desk, mostly arranged in three-ring binders. I found this excerpt from a talk I gave in 2000. It seems pretty applicable today, as well. 

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Jesus told several stories about little things that meant a lot. Do you remember what He said about the mustard seed? The first story is that the Kjngdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed. It is a little bitty thing at first, but when it is planted, and nurtured, it grows and grows and grows. It becomes a tree with big branches and lots of leaves. Birds come to rest in the branches, build nests, and make their homes in it. 

I think what the story means is that, when we first meet Jesus, we make a little room for Him in our hearts.  The longer we know Him, the more room we make for Him, so that the "seed of faith" grows.  It grows enough to become a safe haven, a place of protection, comfort, and abiding. Maybe it means we bear fruit. Maybe it means that little helpless creatures, and lost helpless people, can find a safe place with us. 

There is another mustard seed story I really like. You, like me, may have forgotten what started the lesson on faith that day. A man had a son who was had seizures, and was very ill. He would often fall into the fire and other times fall into the water. The man took him to Jesus's disciples, but they couldn't cure him. The father was, needless to say, pretty upset. His hope was just about gone.

Finally, he spotted Jesus with His disciples, heading into a big crowd of people. He ran up to Jesus and fell on his knees, begging for mercy and healing for his son.  Jesus, of course, cured the boy at once.

Later, when no one was around or listening, the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn't cure the boy. He told them it was because "of the littleness of their faith". He said that, if they had faith the size of a mustard seed, they could've told a mountain to move to a different place and it would have had to move. That mustard seed is mighty little. Mustard seed faith  must be a mighty little bit of faith, too, but Jesus said it can accomplish big things. 

How big is your faith? Are there any mountains you need to move? A mustard seed of faith is all you need. 

Jesus came anyway

"Now Jesus started on His way with them" (Luke 7:6a NASB)

The elders came to Jesus with skewed perspective, improper motives, and an appalling lack of concern for the servant who was gravely ill. Jesus recognized it all. What's truly wonderful is that He swept past all the chaff to get to the wheat of the matter. There was a man in need. 

Jesus did not criticize the elders for their perspective, their motives, or their lack of concern. He heard the need and responded to it with compassion and action. He started out to see the sick man. Actually, He started out with the elders to see the sick man. 

It's so encouraging to me to know that, when I bring a need to our Lord, wrapped in wrong motives and poor insight, He can cut through all my mess and get to the heart of the matter. In fact, He can cut through all my mess and respond to the need in the best possible way. 

Here's what's truly amazing: Jesus does not need me to "get it right" for Him to do so. His perfect intervention does not depend upon my perfect intercession. The centurion sent men who did not understand the depth of his faith nor the intent of his heart to request healing from Jesus for his servant. Their words to Him could not in any way be construed as an example of wonder-working intercession. Jesus started out to see the servant before the demonstration of faith on the part of the centurion and despite the wording of the elders. He simply responded to the asking, as awkward as it was. 

As we bring our loved ones to Jesus, take heart, dear ones. He cares more than we care. He loves more than we love. He does not need a "formula prayer" to accomplish redemption. He does not need us to pray perfectly or be perfect to accomplish redemption in the lives of those we love. Simply tell Him the need in your heart and know that He will respond. You can trust Him. 

Pray today that our Lord will see the need in the lives of our loved ones and bring healing to every sick and hurting place in their hearts. 

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The link to last might's post is here: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/04/finding-blessing.html 

Finding the blessing

It has been a difficult few days in our area.  The tornado took a toll on all of us. If we didn't have damage to our homes or lose electricity, we probably know someone who did. There has been tremendous grief and a mountain of worry.  

In the midst of the trouble, the wound patients have found it hard to be as compliant as usual with things like eating enough protein, staying off their foot, and keeping the dressing changed as often as ordered. They've missed appointments in an attempt to avoid bad weather. It's just been a jumble at our office trying to work around the storm warnings and the storm damage. 

That might not seem like a big deal, but I am very particular about compliance so the wounds will get well quickly. (I've heard I'm pretty demanding.) Today, one of the first patients I saw immediately began making apologies for not doing what they were supposed to have done. Much to my surprise, I just smiled and said, "Oh, that's okay. It's been a hard few days. I'm not fussing at anyone this week.  You get a pass. Just do better next week." The patient was speechless for a minute, then started smiling. "Thanks!" I talked about how the wound was doing and spent the rest of our time finding out about how the storm had affected them. 

After I'd let one person off so easily, I couldn't suddenly get tough again, so I've "given passes" all day. We've had enough hard times this week.  Who wants to add a demanding doctor to everything else?  As I talked with the patients about the storm, I was surprised by how it had affected them. Some were without power. A few had lost a loved one. Some had freezers filled with food in danger of spoiling. The interesting thing was that, though most people had some kind of trouble related to the storm, they all had a blessing of some kind for which they were grateful. 

One man was a child during the tornado of 1936. He was grateful that the clean up wasn't mule-driven this time around. After he described the work back then, I was too. He'd also lived through a tornado that killed his good white horse. He was very grateful that not one of his horses was killed this time round. 

Another man was grateful for his good insurance that would reimburse him for the food in the freezer if it spoils. Everyone was grateful that their trouble hadn't been worse. 

At the end of the day, I was telling someone about the "grace in the storm" project.  As I talked, I realized I had been dispensing grace all day, and I really liked it. So, here's some grace for you: 

Do better tomorrow. 

Apologize to The Lord for your failures and just do better tomorrow. 

Grace. 

It feels good, doesn't it? Now, it's your turn. Spread some grace around.  Have fun!

The Least of These (Luke 7:4,5)

When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, "He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue." (Luke 7:4, 5 NASB)

It's easy to lose sight of the individual when we focus on the "stuff" of life, isn't it?  That's what happened with the elders in this story. When they approached Jesus, they were asking Him to do what the centurion wanted. Their rationale was that he had been generous to the nation of Israel. Nothing in their conversation indicates a concern for the servant. The less important patient entered into their request only because of the centurion. 

There's nothing wrong with wanting to fulfill a request for those who are most prominent in society. The problem comes when we are so focused on the ones on the top of the social ladder that we fail to notice the ones on the bottom of the social ladder. Before God, we are all just sinners saved by the mercy and grace of God. It took equal mercy for God to pay our penalty for sin. We should distribute equal grace. 

In a time of great need, such as the one we are currently facing in our state, we need to be the ones looking for the need no one else has noticed. No one but Jesus. There will be many helping with the most obvious needs. Let's be the ones who look for the need only Jesus has seen. He cares for every single one. We should, too.  

Pray today that our hearts would be filled with gratitude for the care God has lavished on us and filled with compassion for those who need His love. Pray, too, that our compassion will spur us to action and seeing our good works will bring glory to God and point the way to Him for those we love the most. 

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Here's the link for last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/04/tupelo-tornado-seeking-to-save.html