|
The
Oilers
Are
you wondering what to do
with your life, or do you
already have a clear-cut
picture of what God has
called you to do? Some
folks spend their whole life
going from one project to
another hoping to find
satisfaction in what they do
without ever finding their
comfort zone. Admittedly,
it is no easy task to
analyze our inward self and
eventually come to a
concrete conclusion of “This
is exactly where God wants
me and what He would like
for me to do to satisfy me
and glorify Him.”
One of
the things our mothers do is
help us find a few landmarks
and road signs as we travel
this uncertain world looking
for the street with our name
on it. The way has so many
twists and turns and some
have no markers at all and
we can’t always see where
they lead. Sound familiar?
Even when we find our
street, it is lined with
many possibilites, some of which
look nearly the same; which
one is mine? Is technology
the one? The public service
abode? What about
education, there is a great
need there? Should I go
into some field of
ministry? The choices are
multitudinous. Mothers can
make us aware of the many
choices, but we have to
concentrate on the one
closest to our heart; the
one we want to spend our
life pursuing and
perfecting.
If you
find yourself in this
“valley of indecision,”
don’t feel alone. We have
known folks whom we felt
that even we knew what their
calling was, yet they
resisted it. Later, they
submitted and finally found
their way to the place where
friends and family knew all
along they were headed.
Most likely our mothers
walked through this same
valley before making a final
choice about the direction
of their lives.
A
mother doesn’t have to be a
psychologist or
psychiatrist, to be
qualified to give us advice
about life or where we
should aim our energy, but
their observation and
experience can aid in mutual
support as we struggle with
God’s plan versus our
personal goals.
What
touches your heart? What
brings tears to your eyes?
What do you want to “fix” in
this world? Where do you
like to spend your spare
time and resources? Is it
admirable? Is it geared
toward giving more than
receiving from the
experience? There are clues
hidden here. We can rest
assured that our mothers
have been where we are, have
made some of the same
mistakes and can help us
sort through the many voices
calling us.
We
can’t be everything to
everybody. Not only is it
exhausting, it is
counterproductive to try to
live only to please people.
Our goal must be to please
God. We must choose what we
would gain the most pleasure
from and measure it against
God’s will. There is
nothing more fulfilling than
to find ourselves
“smack-dab” in the center of
God’s will! We might even
have to circumvent our
mother’s good intentions to
make decisions that we must
make for ourselves, but she
will still be at our back
with support.
Where
do we begin? Regardless of
what God has called us to
do, it all begins with a
personal relationship with
God, submission and total
surrender, and a
no-holds-barred love for
Jesus Christ. Then He will
begin to unravel the mystery
and preparation will get
under way. It probably will
not be a Damascus Road saga
like Paul’s (though it
could); most likely it will
gently begin to unfold.
Step number one is
submission, first to God
then to those who have
leadership over us. If we
don’t learn to submit and
follow, we can’t be promoted
to lead.
Back
to the questions.
What
natural talents have been
given to you? They are not
there by accident. They may
be different from anything
anyone in your family has
done. Our tendencies are a
clue. We have what someone
else needs; we have an
answer to their questions,
their problems. That’s how
God works. He doesn’t come
to earth personally to meet
someone’s need; He sends us.
God
gave us mothers to pave the
way they traveled to make
our journey more
successful. She will listen
as we share our goals and
desires. She has observed
us all our lives and no
doubt has hidden in her
heart our tendencies as she
guided us toward maturity.
What
touches your heart? Mother
knows. What can turn your
tears on and reach into your
innermost being? Mother has
seen those tears and wiped
them away. She knows there
is someone who needs your
compassion. They may be
next door or across the
ocean.
“And
God hath set some in the
church, first apostles,
secondarily prophets,
thirdly teachers, after that
miracles, then gifts……” (1
Corinthians 12:28).
If we
seek only fame and fortune,
we may overlook 'the best'
that God has
in store for us. We have to
look past ourselves to find
God’s plan. Paul said that
he died daily (1 Corinthians
15:31). He meant that he
regularly set aside his
personal goals and comfort
to find God’s will.
Remember, he once thought he
knew what God wanted him to
do—kill all the Christians!
Then he met the Master and
really discovered his place
in the kingdom of God.
After
we have emptied ourselves of
ourselves, then we are ready
to be filled with the Spirit
and equipped for our journey
toward total fulfillment –
and rewards! Nothing we do
for God will be overlooked.
We may look at others who
have prominent and
successful lives and visible
ministries and feel inferior
or even cheated that our
place is hidden from view
and seemingly unimportant;
but it is great in God’s
eyes. Rewards will be given
according to faithfulness,
based on quality not on
quantity. There is one who
will be behind us, rooting
for us, bragging on us as
long as she lives—Mother!
“Rejoice, and be exceeding
glad: for great is your
reward in heaven….” (Matthew
5:12).
“And
behold, I come quickly; and
my reward is with me, to
give every man [person]
according as his work shall
be” (Revelation 22:12).
Does a
squeaky hinge bother you?
Maybe you are to be the
“oiler.” Does that sound
insignificant? It’s not.
Every family, every church,
every business, every
neighborhood, etc., has a
squeaky hinge that stirs up
trouble for others. You may
have some “oil” of wisdom
that can quiet the noisiest
hinge around and calm the
troubled waters. You may
even be able to apply the
lubricant without anyone
being aware of who did it,
but what a blessing your
drop of oil is. Know for
certain that God is fully
aware of your oil and the
hinges that it relieves.
Mothers are “hinge oilers.”
They want every member of
their family to be happy and
successful. We will
probably never know in this
life how many nights they
have been on their knees
talking to God about us or
what they have deprived
themselves of to accommodate
our needs. Only she and God
know now.
Look
into your heart; find what
God has put there for His
glory. It may not be what
your family or friends would
like for you; but if God put
it there, you will find
supreme satisfaction in
exercising your talent for
God’s glory.
We
need folks who work in the
daylight, highly visible in
their place of service; but
don’t be afraid to be a
“hinge oiler.” When you
hear the squeak, your heart
will quicken and you will
just automatically reach for
the oil to ease whatever
door it opens. You know
that’s your job and you are
so important!
Find
your place where your heart
leads and that for which God
has qualified you. (He
qualifies whom He calls!)
Give it your full support
and attention and don’t try
to be what you are not.
You’ll never be happy or
succeed trying to fill
someone else’s place. Don’t
try to be the light on the
hill if God has placed you
behind the door to keep it
oiled. Who knows, God may
help you open doors that
would otherwise remain shut
and create an entrance into
a wonderful new vista.
Keep
your oil can handy; the
world needs you! Mother has
passed the oil to you and
another generation will
benefit from her example to
make the world operate more
efficiently. Her ultimate
success depends on your
faithfulness to keep the
hinges oiled. If God wants
to promote you to something
that is more visible, that’s
OK; Mother will be happy
either way.
We
raise our oil cans in salute
and honor to our Mothers and
to the young mothers
following in the footsteps
of an “Oiler of Hinges”!
Happy Mother's Day !
To all Mothers in any sense
of the word!
~~Delores~~
|
