Care

A close good friend once told me once that accepting care from others allows them the opportunity to give of themselves and grow in their faith also.  How well do you care for others?  How good are you at allowing others to reach out to you in a time of need?  I am learning constantly that the word “care” must come from the heart, in both directions.  We may forget and treat caring for others as a duty, task, or something to check off our “do good” list and be selfishly proud of our accomplishment.  During an illness of my own, my husband jumped in with both feet (and his huge heart) to take care of me.   I felt so guilty because he was doing everything – cooking my favorite meals (and his healing snickerdoodle cookies), cleaning the house, and making sure I was comfortable.  I would constantly say “Thank you for taking such good care of me.”  His favorite reply would be, “I’m here to serve.”  And that, my friends, was truly from his heart.  He cared about me and desired nothing more than to care for me.  How much do we as human beings long to be cared for but don’t accept help that is offered due to our pride?  Many times, during our busy day, we’re always doing for others.  When family or a friend offers their help, I know I’m too stubborn to accept that help.  Secretly we may be thinking how nice it would be to have someone jump in to care for us or take even the smallest of tasks off our plate.  I always thought of that as a weakness – accepting or asking someone else for help.  But my friend reminded me that I was not allowing them to experience the gift of serving others.  So, due to my illness, I was again reminded (and had no choice) that allowing others to care for us is a lesson in humility.  God is the superpower, not us!   So, in your days of carrying out your daily routine, think about who can you can care for this week?  Or maybe it’s the simple question, “How can I be humble enough to accept that offer of care from others?  Maybe you and I should focus on our attitude from both directions.  WWJD?  I picture His smile, His outreached hand, and most of all his inner joy in caring for each one of His children.  He never tires.  Let’s acknowledge that we need to be more thankful for the care that God extends to each of us, every single day, especially through the care of sending his Son, Jesus to us.

“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.’”
Matthew 25:40