I Just Want to be a Blessing

Ever have one of those moments where you look up and think for a split second, my God, my God, I am so very blessed?  I have them quite often. Now, I'm going to leave people off of this list, because no one actually reads a ten-page-long blog post, but here are a few examples...
 

Martha & Heedy

Like when I walked into my kitchen after an exhausting day of Shortie Stuff only to find that a deacon at our church (Hi, Mr. Heedy!) brought baskets and baskets of fresh veggies to my house. Okra, squash, tomatoes, peas...see, I'd driven past a veggie stand on the way home and thought about stopping but had absolutely no money on me. Not a dime. And then I came home to everything I desired at that veggie place. I made this huge dinner: chicken casserole, rice, sliced red tomatoes, fried squash and okra, purple hull peas, sliced onion and fresh peppers, biscuits, and blackberry cobbler for dessert. And our Bonus Child had her prayer answered too--she'd been thinking about that chicken casserole all week and that's what I made! God is so good!



Bridgett, Noah, & Roddy



Or like when Mother's car caught fire at church last week (specifically her brakes), well another deacon (Hi, Mr. Roddy!) rushed right out with a fire extinguisher and put that thing out in just a second. We could have been tooling up the road and caught on fire or somewhere between here and Town all by ourselves (and one car catching fire in my lifetime is one too many, so I think God knew that I couldn't take it again). So, instead of a major disaster it was just sort of irritating. When the fire was out, we walked in and had church services, then walked to the house which is only 100 yards away. God is so good!

  

Swimming at Tack & JuJu's

Or like today when I pulled up my calendar and my biggest decision of the day is whether to take the kids to The Art Shop (Hi, Mrs. Melissa!) for the 10:00 class or the 2:00 class, because we want to swim before it rains. We go swimming and fishing at another deacon family where they let us use their backyard pool any ole time we want. (Hi, Tack and JuJu!) God is so good! 

Gretchen & David with their beautiful girls!



Or when I looked out my window to see men from church mowing the grass and weed eating like crazy and I think to myself, THANK GOD for these men (Hi, Mr. David and Mr. Waldrop!), because if the yard care were left up to me and The Husband it wouldn't be Casa Johnson, it would be Jungle Johnson. God is SO good!

Mrs. Mary Jane & Kory

Or like when these wonderful woman from church (Hi, Mrs. Mary Jane, Mrs. Kattie, Mrs. Betty Jo, Mrs. Betty Mae, Mrs. Katherine, Mrs. Annie, and everyone else!) just randomly pulls up with desserts, stuffed peppers, soup, salsa, etc., and we are so blessed because I don't do any of that (good enough to actually eat, that is). God is so good!

Or when it was time to start thinking about teaching the GA (girl's missions) class again for next year at church, and I'm thinking I'm a little burned out and need some fresh ideas, this lady steps right up to me before church and says, "Hey, I'd like to help you with the GAs this next year," like she's the perfect answer to prayer at the exact right moment (Hi, Mrs. Sherry!) God is so good!



Lilly in the NICU at St. Vincent's. Two months after birth



Or when my phone rang a few days ago...a stressed out pregnant mom (Hi, Mrs. Bragan!) with a baby about to be born premature (Hi, Baby Barrett!) and needing help, advice, information, mostly just someone who knew that feeling and prayer, and guess what? I knew EXACTLY what to say and what to pray because God gifted me with a micro-preemie and a  4 1/2 months NICU stay, giving me the exact words and thoughts and information necessary to minister to someone else in that same need at the perfect time. I'm so thankful for Lillian's early birth and our experience in the NICU, because we've been able to minister to so many other people. And that baby was born perfect and whole. God is so good!

 

Christopher



Or when The Number One Son (who still doesn't spend the night off from home because it stresses him out) wanted to go away to summer camp for the first time, but refused to go without his father, this wonderful youth from our church (Hi, Christopher!) said that he'd go and stay with my son so that The Husband didn't have to leave us for a week (which was an amazing answer to Steve's prayer since going to camp is like announcing a death march or something). God answered Carter's prayer, Steve's prayer, and my prayer all at the same time through that youth and his willingness to sacrifice. God is so good!

 Are you catching my theme? It's not God I actually see here...it's God through these people and their actions. So, to quote the sermon from The Husband, how are you being a blessing to others? How is God working through you? How is God working through me? Am I open to let God use me as a blessing?

I Kings 3:1-15 Solomon has a dream and God tells him to ask for anything he wants. Solomon chose wisdom, to be able to discern right from wrong in order to help and judge his people. He wanted to be a blessing, rather than to get a blessing. And later, God gave him everything his heart desired, beyond anything he actually asked for.

So, what about you? Are you being a blessing? I know that we are abundantly blessed by God's people every single day!