A Godly Woman
I’m inspired by a godly woman from our church, Delores. A year or so before my illness, she ultimately healed from stage 4 brain cancer. She was a vivacious lady around 60 years old living life to the full. She and her husband ran the local annual rodeo and a western store.
One Saturday evening, she laid down because she had a headache. The next thing you know, she was having a full-blown seizure. Soon afterward, we learned it was cancer. I have never seen someone have such a positive attitude. It was the most beautiful thing to see. She spoke life to the entire church during her journey to heaven. She would always tell us, “I’m just along for the ride.”
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths,
but only such as is good for building up,
as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29-30 (NLT)
Blessing Others in the Trial
I’m sure she had her days when no one was around, but she was such a blessing. One day, I was sitting in her hospital room when the nurse came in to take vitals or something routine. The procedure must have hurt because Delores spoke harshly to the nurse. Though I’ve heard people speak much more harshly to their nurses, immediately, she was apologizing for speaking harshly…even though she was in great pain. Her grace amazed me. I can only pray that I treat my healthcare workers and caretakers with half the kindness.
Speak Life. It is a Good Practice
… even if you aren’t sick. I want to take to heart the words my parents have often quoted:
“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
To the best of our abilities, we should speak kindly to everyone. As you are able, be sure to say thank you, whenever possible. I tend to have trouble when getting a blood draw. I’ve actually come home with large bruises on both arms. So I always try to brag on the technician when they do it well. After my stay in the hospital, we took flowers up to the nurse’s station. You don’t have to take it that far, but a kind word of thanks goes a long way.
To speak life isn’t always easy to do, but I do know this, what is in your heart, is what comes out. (Luke 6:35) Therefore, I would say if our hearts and minds are filled with scripture, that is what will come out.
Speaking life in the trial,
The above post was excerpted from my series Waiting & Trusting on my personal family blog, The Farmer’s Place.
I read this QUOTE FROM Dr. David Jeremiah recently…
Before you speak, apply the acronym THINK:Is it truthful?
Is it helpful?
Is it inspiring?
Is it necessary?
Is it kind?
You might be thinking, “If I applied that principle, then I would basically say nothing.” So be it. –
-David Jeremiah
/h
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Pastor’s Wife (retired) & Chronic Pain Warrior blogs about how to make it through anything by relating her own life experiences to her writing. She is passionate about her love for the Lord and desires to spread that passion to others. She has a great desire to encourage women who are following behind her.
What a great post! A powerful testimony!
ISn’t it though! So grateful to have found Shona and her testimony. I’m thrilled to be able to help her get the word out about the needs of the chronically ill. The church needs to become more aware and helpful.
Thanks for sharing, Mandy. It’s true, speaking kindly can be hard sometimes. I work in Guest Services at a clinic and when people are in pain, they can be nasty, but this is a great reminder for me to continue to serve them with kindness and grace. Blessings on your week. Pam – visiting from #61 on FMF this week!
My kids were just talking about this very thing. They work with the public and people can be downright mean sometimes. But we must do our best to show Christ in all our words. Thanks for visiting.