The Circle Banner - Anyone can love the mountains, but it takes a soul to love the pairie

When I turned 40 I received numerous gifts and cards. One precious gift I got was an album in which numerous friends contributed heartfelt notes and such. One evening I sat down and showed my hubby my special gift. I watched as he began paging through the album.

His eyes glanced over the pages, reading bits and pieces of the things people had written. It's then my eyes moistened, and I fought back tears. No, it wasn't because my spouse was reading things that had touched my heart. It was because at that moment I wondered, “Does he recognize the woman these people are talking about?” I questioned if I had been giving my best to others and leaving him with the leftovers.

More recently God revealed to me that I sometimes (more often than I care to admit) treat my female friends better than my husband. (I know I've mentioned previously that I can be a slow learner when it comes to life lessons. Here I was again being reminded of a lesson I wished I had mastered years ago.) If I came across a friend who was a little short with me or down, I would patiently ask her what was going on as she wasn't acting like herself. If I came across my husband and he was a little short with me, I'd basically tell him to get his act together and knock it off, not considering the stresses he had been facing that day and the burdens weighing him down.

A month or two ago, I was listening to a speaker. He was talking about encouraging your spouse or something along that line. (Those of you reading this who aren't married, stick with me here. There's something in this for you, too.) I went away with this thought: Marriage = Ministry. I'm hoping this lesson will stick better this time as both words begin with “M” - I need all the tricks I can get to help me remember.

We know that the Bible says not to be “unequally yoked” (II Cor. 6:14), so I'm not saying to marry someone of a different set of beliefs in an attempt to convert them. What I am saying is that our marriage affords us someone we can love on, serve, pour life into, and build up on a daily basis. If we want Jesus to flow through us to people and make a difference in their lives, shouldn't it first start with our mate?

Unfortunately, I feel I need to mention I'm speaking to those of us married to the average Joe. If you're married to an abusive manipulative individual, I don't have the training or intelligence to speak to that. Please ask for God's guidance in finding someone who does.

Some of you aren't married. What I want to remind you of, (Yes, another lesson I'm trying to firmly take hold of.) is that our mission field is wherever we are. It's our friends, our relatives, our co-workers, and the waitress standing at the end of the table waiting for our order. One thing that can cause us to forget we're in the middle of our mission field or we're to minister to our spouse is simply that life gets in the way and distractions come.

I start off wanting to let Jesus live through me, and then my eyes get diverted as things run across my path. I get distracted, lose focus, and forget my purpose for being here. Years ago I left a store in Billings excited as I was able to encourage a cashier. As she was scanning my items, we began talking. I found out this young mom was exhausted as her toddler wasn't sleeping well and was having some health issues. God put something on my heart to tell her, and as I shared it, she wiped tears from her eyes. I would love it if that happened all the time, but… I often begin talking with a cashier, and then my thoughts go to: “Wasn't that supposed to be on sale?” or “Did I get enough Cool Whip for the dessert I'm making tonight?” And I'm swept away by the details of life.

“Jesus said unto him, “'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” (Matthew 22:37-39, NKJV)

When I think of Jesus, He did such an amazing job staying connected to His Father and ministering to the people He encountered. If you, like me, realize you've gotten a little sloppy in either of these areas, I'll let you share in this, my latest reminder of our purpose for why we're here: First - to be in relationship with the Lord. And secondly - to allow Him to touch others through us, whether it's the person you share a home with or an office.

By the way, this isn't about trying harder. This is about not losing sight of Jesus in our daily lives and purposefully investing in our relationship with Him. He's the one who will love others through us and give us reminders as we need them. We simply need to maintain connection with Him, our Source.