Never Retire

There are times that I am so in love with Jesus and how He works in our lives that I can hardly stand it. Just this last Saturday at our House Church meeting, we were studying the spiritual discipline of service. One of the teaching points was that as Christians, we never retire from service. At that time I pointed out that my parents, in their 80's were perfect examples of that concept. About 2 years ago, they decided to open their house for a biweekly House Church meeting. We've had a regular group meeting ever since and it has developed into an awesome community of believers who eat together, study together, pray together and serve together. But this last Sunday I was so overwhelmed by the power of Jesus I couldn't keep the tears from rolling down my cheeks as I witnessed a further example of this.

My husband and I take my parents to a weekly gathering of house church folks who meet for praise, worship and teaching. They rely on us for this because they don't drive anymore. My mom in particular hasn't driven for years because of poor eyesight as well as the struggles with confusion that is common to senior citizens. Additionally, she has arthritis and is sometimes prone to falling. Last Sunday, after the Pastor was finished with his sermon, Mom noticed a college age girl in the pew in front of her with her head in her hands and weeping. My sweet Mother,who gets lost on her way to the church bathroom, immediately moved up to her and put her arm around her. The girl just melted into Mom's shoulder and the 2 of them moved up to the altar. As soon as they got up there, Mom, in spite of her arthritic bones ,hit her knees along with this college girl. Now I don't know what they were praying about but I know that the girls seemed so glad to have this grandma-type holding her and stroking her hair while she cried. It was such a God-moment and was the most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time. They were still praying together when the service was dismissed so I moved up to the front pew and sat close to where they were kneeling. When they were done and said their goodbyes, I moved up to Mom and helped her up off the floor. Now Mom doesn't remember the girls name and still has trouble remembering what day of the week it is. But that didn't stop her from being used by God in an act of love and service. I guess it's true. We never retire from serving the Lord.