I have been meeting with a spiritual advisor who suggests I start each morning with prayer. So I try and read the poetry of the psalms. But she suggested I really stick to the scriptures. So, today, I hit upon this from Matthew (and, you know, I love the poetry of The Message):
The World Is Not a Stage
6 “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.
2-4 “When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.
I am so grateful for the times when I have been shown kindnesses without showiness, without applause. And I aim to be that kind of kind. I have been given so much. And yes, I have BIG challenges. But who doesn’t?
Yesterday, there were very few snowbanks around, but I managed to find one with my rental car’s rear bumper. My niece D, my dear friend C, and some unknown fedex delivery guy showed up and bailed me out of that muddy rut. I could not have gotten by and gotten out without them.
I want to do likewise — help others out of their ruts. I hope that you, too, lend a hand when needed, and accept the hand when you have need. Get out of your rut. Keep going.