"In Other Words"--A Lady of Grace

This is my first "In Other Words" entry. Blessings to each of you for reading!



I can only imagine what the folks on the building site will think when she arrives. She is a lady in every sense of the word. Refined, proper and so soft-spoken, she carries herself with more grace and poise than anyone else I know. Tall, proper, almost fragile—certainly not your typical construction worker. But this week she is off to Africa to build houses with Habitat for Humanity. Why? Because God has called her to go. By all appearances she may be the right person in the wrong job. But I cannot wait to hear how perfect the job was for her when she returns. How do I know that it is the perfect job? God has called, and He indwells, and the evidence will be manifest.

Salt, when dissolved in water, may disappear, but it does not cease to exist. We can be sure of its presence by tasting the water. Likewise, the indwelling Christ, though unseen, will be made evident to others from the love which He imparts to us.
~Sadhu Sundar Singh~

I have felt the evidence of the love of Christ flowing through this wonderful lady. I had only been in England a few weeks. It was Mothering Sunday. The church was honoring the mothers in the congregation. And I was sobbing. Uncontrollably…sobbing. As soon as the service was over, this hand reached out and touched me, and a beautiful musical voice said, “It’s so difficult, is it not?” A quick hug from someone I had not yet met eased my heart. She thought I was sobbing because I missed home. She could not have known the still heavy hurt I carried from lost pregnancies and how very difficult Mother’s Day was for me, because no one in my new home country knew of those losses. Or maybe she could sense that the hurt was deeper than being homesick. I’ll never really know, but I do know that she sensed that I needed to feel the tangible love of God and she offered it. I appreciate it even more now, years later, as I understand the “British reserve” and that an outward demonstration of that sort to a virtual stranger is rare. But the indwelling love of God comes out. I said she carries herself with grace and that is the apt word. Grace. She carries herself with the grace of God. It embodies her. And those around her are blessed.

I’m so glad that God has allowed me to be blessed by this lady. I am so glad that He has called her to bless some construction workers and volunteers in Africa. Most importantly I pray that those children with AIDS will see the love of God pouring from her as she gives herself to service in building their home. Go with God, dear lady, our prayers are with you.