Take Your Daily Vitamin!

I may have told this story before, but years ago, when I was in the beginning stages of my work career, I gained employment as a part-time Sales Clerk in the Sporting Goods department at our local Sears department store, while attending Santa Rosa Junior College. 

My memories of the five years that I eventually spent there are quite pleasant.  I made many friends amongst the other part-timers (a good many of them in my age group) and with the older, full-time, seasoned workers.  I also enjoyed interacting with the customers, helping them with our products and sharing a laugh or two along the way.

There was one time in particular though, that I remember when my laugh was not shared by the customer.  It was in the early summer months of 1972 when a customer marched up to me and irritably handed me a plastic air mattress.  She proceeded to tell me that she had bought the air mattress the previous summer for 99 cents and when she went to inflate it again this year (after the previous summer’s usage), she discovered a leak and was demanding her money back.

Well… I am not sure why… but it just hit me as being very funny and I looked up at her and said, “Well… what do you expect for 99 cents?” 

And like I alluded to… she did NOT see the humor in my statement, so I quickly informed her that I would refund her purchase and went on to explain the reasoning behind my response to her*… while I filled out the prerequisite return slip (with a smile on my face) for her to take to the Customer Service counter right next to our department.

As she huffed away, I remember thinking that she and I had different intentions and attitudes about the purchase and realized that my explanation went right over her head!  But never-the-less, I got a good laugh over it and was able to enjoy the story with my co-workers for days to come!

That particular memory popped up again in my thoughts as I studied a portion of scripture found in Hebrews 4:12 where the writer explained the reasoning behind the Word of God and declared that,

“God's word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God's word judges a person's thoughts and intentions.”  (God’s Word ©) 

It was the last part of the verse that specifically caught my attention with the idea that “God’s Word judges a person’s thoughts and intentions”

A quick glance at the Remedy Version really brought the meaning home to me personally when it stated that the Word,

“also diagnoses the true INTENTIONS, ATTITUDES and PRINCIPLES of the heart.” 

Since that experience as a college student working at Sears, I’ve repeatedly learned that many individuals have different Intentions, Attitudes and Principles than I do… even some of those that are close to me!  This realization became vividly apparent to me when Piper was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. 

Through lots of confusion and frustration that drove me to my knees in prayer, I slowly became aware that even though certain people SAY that they have the same kind of faith that I do and think that they understand me… it doesn’t necessarily mean that their experiences, understanding and personal conception of their faith and their view of life… is just like mine!

Through the regular study of God’s Word (as our verse implies) I began to get insights into the heart of people and gain the ability to discern some of the more advantageous ways in which to successfully communicate with the people that Piper and I were interacting with. 

I started to see how certain words, subjects and verbal or visual attitudes could adversely affect our conversations.  I learned to avoid certain subjects completely, to keep some of the information I needed to share as positive as possible… and at times (many times in fact)… to just to keep my mouth shut and smile!

The Lord had instructed me early on after Piper was diagnosed, to saturate her in the Word.  My initial thought was that this was to keep us focused on God’s abilities, on His miracle working power, to build our faith and to increase our stamina and joy. 

What I didn’t realize until a few years into our journey, was that it was also so that He could teach us the right social-interaction and behavioral skills to successfully navigate through this intense time in our lives… both for our good and the good of those who also played a part (whether willingly or unwillingly) in our adventures in faith!

So you see, that regular study in the Word of God is not only necessary for the training and growth of a person’s spiritual side… but just as importantly… for the natural side of men and women and boys and girls as well!  The Word is the all-in-one Daily VITAMIN for the whole person!

I take my daily VITAMIN… How About YOU?

Have a great weekend!  We are FINALLY getting a break in the outrageously hot temperatures we’ve had for the last few weeks with temperatures in the 90’s today and 80’s for the next few days following!  I hope you can do something FUN this weekend… and as you do… share some of the JOYS of living in God’s BEST with the others around you!

 

 

*At the time I was recalling all the inexpensive air mattresses that my parents would buy for me and my siblings each year for our camping adventures… and without fail… the mattresses would never last the week or so that we were gone!  Between sleeping on them by night and floating down the river on them by day… the last day of the vacation was inevitably slept in our sleeping bags with nothing but the hard ground under us!  So, I actually thought that the customer had done really well, if the mattress had lasted one whole summer!