The Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:12

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Did you ever meet one of those people that always seem to be be saying "ow" because they bumped into an inanimate object or stubbed a toe a table leg? Yeah, that's me. Clumsy. 

One particular week was especially full of bumps and bruises for me. On the Fourth of July, my family was invited to a picnic and a group had gotten together for a game of volleyball. I joined a team and the game began. I was doing well for a while when all of a sudden the ball came toward me and I hit it, but in the process, it hit my left thumb hard and kept right on sailing past me.

It hurt. A lot.

I tried to keep playing but soon it became quite obvious to me that it required ice, so ice I went to seek but it was hot and melted quickly.  After a bit, I asked Jason if we could leave the picnic because there was no way I could stand it any longer with no ice pack. It wasn't long before I made up my mind to go to the hospital just to make sure I hadn't done any damage to it that needed attention. It turned out to be a sprain. The doctor splinted it, said to keep ice on it.

A month and a half have passed and I'm still feeling my volleyball injury.

Yeah, I think I have officially retired from volleyball.

That same week, I was opening a can of green beans for dinner and cut my finger on the tin can. Same hand that was already splinted. Bandage coming right up!

That same week I also slipped down some wet steps, smashing the middle toe on my left foot on a metal pole. It turned purple and I limped around for the rest of the week.

Fingers. Toes. They seem so minor, yet as soon as they are injured, you sure notice them and give them all your attention!

It reminded me of the body of Christ. It's easy to feel like your ministry is small and insignificant. You might feel like you are not really needed and what you do wont really matter. Fact is, that's just not true.

Our family helped out with a VBS a few weeks ago at one church in Ohio. Jason was asked to teach a class for boys. Other adults there helped with snacks, crafts, teaching, and music. Everything was already covered. I would be a floater helping with registration and then wherever I could. Seems little. Seems insignificant. But God has given me a love for creating things artistically. So, after I helped with registration, I went around taking pictures of all the activities that we're going on. I was able to present the church with a picture video on the last night of VBS when parents were invited to come for the closing service.

1 Corinthians 12 gives us a great illustration of how the body is one yet has many members. So be in church and serve right where God has put you. No one is little and no one is insignificant. Because when those little fingers and toes are absent from normal use, the body as a whole ceases to work as it did when the fingers and toes were fully functioning. 

Take No Thought For Your Life

     Matthew 6:25-34 "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

     I am continually amazed at how God has taken care of us. The right provisions always come at the right time.

     Here are just three stories of items He has provided along our deputation journey:

~ On one trip, our family was running low on a few items. One was hairspray. Jason asked why I had forgotten to get more on our last trip to the store. I joked with him that it was like the widow's jar: God would give us just enough hairspray for what we needed that day. The other item we needed was toothbrushes: all three kiddos could not find theirs (I did wonder if they had planned that... Hmmm). It was a Wednesday and after service, one lady said their church had a mission's closet and took us to visit it. There on the shelf was one can of hairspray and a box of toothbrushes. Yay, just in time, Lord.

~ I am a Goodwill shopper. I love to shop there! A particular blue floral printed skirt I had gotten at one such thrift store became my favorite and wore it often. That is until it ripped and could not be mended by me. Hey, I can slap a button on a garment just fine but mending tears and hemming are just not my specialties. So, on our last trip, I left the skirt at home thinking I could wear it around the house to clean in. We traveled extremely north to the upper peninsula of Michigan for a week. The pastor's wife at the church we were visiting told me she had some brand new skirts and let me try some on. Among the skirts was a blue floral skirt that fit perfectly! Yay! When I returned home and my around the house day came, my old skirt was rendered usable no more. I was able to throw it away with no remorse and put on the new skirt God had provided me.

~ Micah was in need of a new pair of glasses. Jason was in Hungary and I was watching the money very carefully since he would be two weeks without meetings. I went ahead and paid the $40 for the glasses, but was worried we wouldn't make it to the next meeting when Jason returned. God showed me how wrong I was to worry when he used a sweet couple in my home church to provide $40. Thank you, again, for providing, Lord.

     When Jesus preached His sermon on the mount, the crowd was filled with people who were worried about making ends meet just as there are today. But Jesus told them to "Take no thought for your life". He reminded them that the birds and the lilies don't worry because God takes care of them, so why should the people worry? 

     Right now, we have a vehicle situation that could be a big worry seeing how much we rely on a vehicle to get us around during deputation. But I will choose not to worry. God's got this! 

     ...And that will just be one more provision to add to the list of things we can give Him glory for!