Tabitha Who?

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." I Corinthians 12:27

"With all your talent and potential, you're gonna do great things for God one day!" I heard this repeatedly as I was growing up. My competitive/achiever nature often caused me to stand out among my peers, and there was always another award to add to my list of accomplishments. I had big goals and high hopes for my future. That all changed when I became The Sick Girl.

Now my biggest achievements are having the strength to fold last week's laundry, empty the dishwasher for the first time in 3 days, or mop the kitchen floor for only the second time in four months (no, I'm not kidding!). My current successes would be considered failures by most. I may not even see another human being, besides my husband, for a week at a time. How then can I ever expect to do these "great things for God?"

God spoke to me recently through Sheila Walsh's new book. She talks about the story of Tabitha in Acts 9:36-42. If you're wondering, "Tabitha who?" it's because those 7 verses are the only mention of her in the Bible. She never did anything amazing that would stick out in our minds, and we certainly don't think of her when we name the great characters of the Bible. Yet, when she died, the Christians in her home town were devastated. They went so far as to send two men to track down Peter and ask him to come back right away. When Peter returned and found all the widows standing around grieving, he raised her from the dead through the power of Christ!

Why her? She wasn't an apostle or a prominent leader in the church. All she did was sew clothes for the poor. Verse 36 describes her as "always doing good and helping the poor." That's nice, but it's not a great work of God. Or is it? Maybe the things we consider important and worthy of notice are not quite as important to God. That's an epiphany for me! My religious background was always about what I was doing to serve the Lord. It was about being at the church "every time the doors are open," going on weekly visitation, and singing solos before the entire congregation - all things I'm not physically able to do anymore. Does that mean I've missed my chance to fulfill God's purpose for my life? The Enemy would like for me to think so!

But the Bible tells me that God has a purpose for me and a place in the body of Christ where I can serve. These days that may not be a high-profile position in my church or community. Maybe it's being an encourager to others also dealing with chronic illness by praying for them, saying an uplifting word on Facebook, being honest about my struggles through this blog, or making a Prayer Shawl for them in my church's knitting ministry (kind of like Tabitha was doing in her church!).

But let's not miss the end of Tabitha's story. Verse 42 tells us that the story of her resurrection "became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord." Because she became sick and died, Jesus Christ received glory, and many precious souls were saved. What a testimony! Isn't that what all believers are called to do with our time on Earth?

Dear Lord, help me to remember that You have a purpose for my life every single day. Even though I may not feel like an important contributor to Your work, I will trust that you will use my humble offering - right here where I am - to glorify Your name and cause others to believe in You.

Easy Button - The Conclusion

So, whatever happened with my search for the Easy Button? I'm sure you're dying to know "the rest of the story." I am too! I don't think there IS an end. But there's definitely a lesson in there somewhere. I've been praying for over a year now that God would "show me great and mighty things I do not know" in regard to my health, our business, and my marriage. If you've read previous posts, you know I have these "333" sightings all the time and use them to remind me of Jeremiah 33:3. Each time I see the triple 3's, I pray that request to God. The past 18 months have been very difficult and very uncomfortable. In my experience, if you keep trusting God through times like these, it usually results in God doing a great work in your life. But I'll admit it: I can be impatient. And God and I have had some pretty heated conversations over the past several months. I even asked HIM about the Easy Button. And here's what He told me:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

He kept giving me that passage, and I didn't get it at first. But then I changed my outlook and decided to trust that God had a purpose in all of this. I still don't know everything He has planned, but I started to see that he'd been answering my prayers all along. Without the recent seriousness of my health condition, I don't think I would have had the motivation to take charge of my health like I have. After just a few months, I have seen amazing improvements in my body. I believe there are better days ahead. When we moved from our beautiful home, I was hurt and angry. But the house we live in now is within 15 minutes of our clients and my doctors. And we live within a few miles of all the health food stores where I do a lot of my food shopping. We have a much smaller yard and home to take care of. This has taken a huge amount of stress off my husband, who had to drive at least an hour to get home from work every day, to take me to the doctor, and to make a special trip out here to get the food I need from the health food store. If I have an emergency at home, he can get to me in minutes, and he's been getting home earlier each evening.

There have been some other opportunities in the area of our business that have opened up because of our move, although we're still waiting to see how God works this out. And although I still don't have the answers about why we don't seem to have a support system in our lives to help out with the heavy burden my health puts on our lives, I am hopeful that the Lord will give us His divine revelation on practical ways we can lessen that burden on my husband's life. God has blessed me with the opportunity to work with a Christian life coach, and she gave me a great word picture to give me hope in this area. She explained that people often say, "that's the last straw," in referring to that circumstance that causes someone to say like Popeye, "That's all I can stands; I can't stands no more!" But what if we could remove things, one straw at a time - one burden at a time? We don't have to solve all our problems with some big epiphany all at once. Sometimes it's just one little solution at a time. And that sounds do-able to me.

So, although I didn't find a big red button to push, I'm starting to understand that quiet voice that keeps telling me, "Give it to Me; let Me carry that weight for you. Just rest in My loving arms and trust." His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.

How the Church Can Minister to the Chronically Ill

Ministering to the Chronically Ill: 20 Ways That Take 20 Minutes
by Lisa Copen

Rest Ministries (www.restministries.com), the largest Christian organization that specifically serves the chronically ill, recently did a survey and asked people to "List some of the programs or resources a church could offer to make it more inviting and comfortable." They have provided a sampling of some of the 800+ responses, all of which could be done in 20 minutes or less.

1. Encouragement emails.
2. Make sure the handicapped stalls in the restroom are functioning and clean.
3. Padded chairs or cushions, room for wheelchairs, and plenty of room for my family to sit with me.
4. Be open-minded about a support group for the chronically ill like HopeKeepers. It would make me feel very special, knowing that there is an understanding of people's needs that are not always visible.
5. Add more disabled parking, even if they are temporary spots.
6. Educate the ushers that people arriving late may have difficulty walking or getting out of cars and will need some assistance.
7. Ask volunteers to call people with chronic illness just to check on them when they don't make it to services.
8. When suppers are given, recognize that I may need help getting my meal--or at least understand that I won't be able to wait in a long line.
9. Be gentle when giving people big hugs. It can topple over or hurt a person.
10. Have a video tape of the service, not just a live web cast. Not all our computers work that well.
11. Make sure that the church doors aren't too difficult to open or at least have mechanical assistance if they're unusually heavy.
12. Stop telling me that if I really believed and had faith I would be healed by now. Please don't insist how good I look, because I know for a fact that I look terrible and miserable that day.
13. Offer me ways to serve within the church that can be performed regularly, but not on a set schedule. I still want to contribute, but I need some flexibility so that I can do a job when I feel well enough to do so.
14. Have sermon notes available so I can listen later or even just review what I didn't catch the first time.
15. Acknowledge National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. Rest Ministries has a nice book list of top 100 Christian books for the chronically ill. It would make a nice display in your bookstore that week.
16. Just mention chronic illness occasionally! Don't forget to talk about it in sermons as one of the challenges many people face just like unemployment or divorce.
17. Have Christian volunteers from church that will clean house for small fee. Some have offered to clean my house, but I cannot accept charity yet, but neither can I afford to pay a regular house cleaning service.
18. Help with some of the small costs of providing encouraging books and resources for the church library the chronically ill can check out.
19. Remember how many caregivers are in the church, not just caregiving for their parents, but also for their spouses or ill children.
20. Have copies of sermons for free on CD or computer.
Find over 500 ways to encourage a chronically ill friend in the book "Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend" at www.beyondcasseroles.com
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I know that some days can seem like more than you can handle. Remember that the Lord promises to never leave you or forsake you. Cling to that. Even when you don't feel his presence He is still there. I tell my 6-year-old son that God is working "under cover." I know I am each day, especially righr now!

Blessings,

Lisa Copen, Rest Ministries Founder
Rest Ministries Chronic Illness Pain Support

If We Are the Body...

A good friend and I have been discussing lately the issue of the body of Christ serving one another and bearing each others' burdens. If we as Christians were truly following the example of Christ and the early church, there would be a lot fewer Christians who are feeling defeated, disconnected, and overwhelmed by life's trying circumstances. That is exactly what the Enemy wants, of course: to keep Christians out of the fight and out of the way of his plans to thwart the cause of Christ.

My dear friend is a young mother who truly desires to please God and raise her children to know and serve Him. But with three very young children at home, she often feels overwhelmed and in desperate need of a break or some quality time alone with her husband. I know that there must certainly be other mothers in her local church who find themselves in this situation as well; could they not trade babysitting services to give other moms a break? What about single ladies in the church or young married couples without children? This could be a real opportunity for them to serve and to learn what it is like to walk in another's shoes. What about a retired couple whose grandchildren live far away? What a mutual blessing it would be for them to "adopt" some children from their church and offer to take them to the zoo, the museum, or the park for the day so Mom can actually get her hair cut or go out on a date with her husband!

But what happens instead? We look at our own situation and how frustrated and discouraged we are that we're a busy mom, a lonely widow, or a couple struggling with the pain of infertility. The Bible tells us that we should follow Christ's example, look at how others around us are struggling, and put their needs above our own (Philippians 2:1-11). When we are willing to do this, not only will we be blessed for our selflessness, but we might find that our own needs will be fulfilled as well. For example, I have a friend with 7 children who has basically been a single mom for the past several months. Yet every time she is going to be near the health food store, she calls me, who is stuck at home because of chronic illness and cannot drive, to see if there's anything I need from the store. She also has a job outside the home, but she came over my house with one of her daughters on a Saturday and cleaned my house because she saw that I was having a tough time. And my husband and I have been able to serve some of her needs as well. What a wonderful blessing to both of us! This is the plan God has for His people! Every part of the body has its own abilities and weaknesses and can serve another member in areas where they are weak.

But we are often unwilling to step out of our comfort zone or make a sacrifice for another brother or sister in Christ. After all, it's more convenient to just invite that couple over that you've known for 10 years because their kids get along with your kids and your spouses hit it off. But what about that couple that's new to the church and have no established friendships or even family that they can fellowship with or call on when they need some help? What about the couple that doesn't have children? It may be a bit more challenging to hang out with that couple because your children won't be occupied and playing with their friends, but don't those people need friends too? You're comfortable having a girls' night out with your two best girlfriends, but what about your friend with chronic illness? She might slow you down at the mall or the beach because she can't keep up with your pace. How about having a single mom over to your house so her boys can throw a football around or learn to work on the car with your sons and your husband? - guy things her son doesn't get to do.

Just something to think about. We all have needs and struggles in life, but we don't have to handle it all on our own. God has adopted us into His family, and He has given us thousands of brothers and sisters in Christ from all different backgrounds, family situations, financial conditions, and special talents and abilities that we can draw upon. Let's reach out to our Christian family and build one another up so that we can bring glory to God and win souls for eternity by the example of our faith and testimony.

"...there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need you!' On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." -I Corinthians 12:20-27