Our Visitors! We have had visitors to our home in recent days and weeks.
Most recently the visitors to our home were a son and three very active grandkids. How wonderful to see and to experience their exuberance! So much fun to have them here and yet for 2 senior citizens, just watching them tended to make us tired—in a good sort of way. Oh for the days when we had that much energy. Due to how far away they live, and due to their school schedule, they were not able to get here very early. While we were expecting them to arrive in the middle of the night, a tired Daddy needed to stop to rest for a bit and their arrival was actually very early in the morning—the next morning! We were so relieved to have them get here safely! They were just in time for breakfast and time to get ready for church! We had a good Sabbath with them. And we were lucky to have them with us for a couple of more days before they had to go back to their home. They were so full of fun and Grandma could not possibly keep up, Grandpa couldn't either! Not so much exuberance from us!
Each of the kids has their own unique personality. The oldest is a creator and is very happy with paper, string, safety pins, twisty ties, graph paper, "white out”, a ruler, scissors, string, card stock.......we are just amazed at what can be imagined and created with "things". The fact that many are 3D and can actually work shows so much talent! We see a future engineer or architect or inventor in our family in the future! Maybe designing churches or schools or programs for God and His work someday! God put creativity within each of us. It is a gift of the Spirit that our joy may be full. Each one of us has our own specialty to develop for God. Throughout our lives we are led by God to discover what we are given. And sometimes, later in life, we are led to discover a previously undiscovered creative talent given by God for such a time as needed.
The next grandchild is often more reserved and quieter but still very full of energy. And very committed to a future in missionary work. It is great to see such steadfastness to a goal this young. To be a missionary is a wonderful goal. To decide that before you are nine and not stray from that plan and remain committed for now shows that a lot of thinking has been going on in such a young mind. This is not just a casual desire. I think that the Koreans, North or South, and the Chinese should be prepared for this commitment from such a young missionary! This young missionary will need gifts from God to be a good missionary in God's work. God gives us work doing His missions. And these missions benefit us in our own relationships with God.
The youngest visitor is always so happy! Always wearing a smile or nearly always! When you have two older siblings who like to tease, it can be hard to keep one's cool! Happy Abi would be a good nickname! Happy despite what happens so often. And not afraid to join in the ruff playtimes. This special grandkid was born with a major heart problem and had major heart surgery at a very young age. No matter—the happiness flows out of that little heart and infects those around.
A happy little one until something happens that meets with disapproval. Then you can expect to get a disapproving look! I can see God giving me the same kind of disapproval look! But that look from God would not be one I want to receive.
Each of them picks on the other two until they get driven to retaliation! They are just kids after all. God allows Satan to put a spirit of retaliation within each of us. We all want to get even! It is hard to remember that God is the Judge, and He will give the sentence that troublemakers deserve. These same three that have sibling troubles still get along fabulously at times and there is lots of laughter and joyousness! Their fun times remind me of a verse in Psalms 16:11—
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. OR in a different version--
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
Each of the kids came having their own “tablet”, not the old-fashioned paper tablet of our grandparents’ school days. They were very much in use during traveling. And the kids found it hard to put them away while they were here. When all became very quiet in our home, we almost knew for sure that the tablets were in use again for game playing. They sometimes needed to be encouraged to put them down. They were unaffected by distractions. There was absolutely no hearing of a quiet voice of a parent or grandparent.
Are you guilty of tablet addiction? We might liken a digital tablet for us as our Bible!
Is our Bible as addictive as the kids and their tablets? Do you play with it as quietly as they did? We should play quietly with our Bibles as we try to discover new ways and new rewards! And meditate and immerse our minds in trying to figure out our next moves and to what the goals in the game of life are!
I think there is a lesson for me to learn from watching the kids with their tablets!
This happy family is a reminder that we all should be friends! God has given us much to be joyful about!
John 15:11-14 NASB says "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.
The other visitors in our home were not expected and not wanted. I have mentioned before that we have had a mouse problem. It has seemed to us like a mouse invasion. And the invasion was most visible in the kitchen and on the cupboard top with telltale signs left behind!!!! This was not making me happy! We were forced to clean and disinfect! A mouse invasion reminds me of the sin invasion to this world. Just as we found mouse signs, there are signs of sin found everywhere.
Mice entered my home through a "mouse hole"! Some found their way in a small opening under the door. And some found a break/crack in the exterior siding of our house. We knew the siding needed to be replaced and we have a plan! But the plan was on hold until we could do more than just fix the hole. We wanted to do the whole wall. We should have taken the time to fix the hole!!!! The hole was found by a mouse, no—many mice! And they were very quiet about entering. No fanfare or sirens or trumpets to announce their arrival. Once they were in, they discovered another hidden hole that led into my kitchen! It was a hole I would have never suspected to be there if they had not left a dirty smudge that led me to investigate.
Sin also entered this world quite quietly with no trumpets or warning sirens.
It entered with just the voice of a creature that was being used by Satan in disguise. And now sin enters me through a small crack and hole in my heart that I have not taken the time to close and fix. That hole in our siding had grown larger because of weather deterioration and grew larger to let in more than a dozen mice! In fact, we are still reaping the results of allowing the mouse sin to come in. When we have a small hole, small sins can be dealt with rather quickly. But really, there are often larger holes left to invite in mice and sin. Then it is not just one sin/one mouse! There are many sins and many mice, all needing to be caught and disposed of.
I welcome some of my visitors! The others need to stay out!