UPDATE FROM JUSTIN BENEDICT & FAMILY IN COSTA RICA
As I stood in the main room of our house, taking a breath after a very long and afternoon of extreme labor, watching my family covered in cement and sweat from the day, I sigh and thank the Lord for seeing us through, I hear “permiso”...,”con permiso!”...I turn and it’s a very sweet and joyful man in our community telling me he’s here to visit and to see what the Lord is building! Justin too busy to break away from the hustle and labor of the concrete, I happily give him a tour and as I show him around, he says what a blessing this is and how he can see the future here and how the Lord will use our home for much much more..he then digs into a worn backpack and pulls out 6 seeds and places them in the palm of my hand. He says, “I don’t have anything to give you, but I have these 6 seeds I want to give.” “May they produce much for your family, and may this be a blessing.”
I step back and feel so grateful to the Lord for such a beautiful first house warming gift!! I don’t think I have ever received a more beautiful one than that. And If you know this man, then you would know the beauty in the gift, for he has nothing to give. He lives on crumbling concrete floors, doesn’t have a steady job and lives in a house that is falling a part. He then grabs my hand, the seeds still within and tells me how blessed he is for he has so much, not much physical that is on this earth, but he has so much peace and joy and he can’t wait for what awaits him on the day the Lord will take him home! He goes on to tell me how he has suffered greatly throughout this last year, struggling with an incurable cancer. He then looks up and raises his arms above his head and says, “Gloria A Dios!”, “Praise the Lord!” He explains, how he views each day as one more day he can share the truth he has found with someone else. He says, “I don’t know how many more days I left, but I praise God for the breath in my lungs today and my heart that’s beating!”
So filled with joy, I turn to help one of my little ones and when I stand up he’s gone...I go looking for him and hear once again all the noise from the concrete work going on in the back. I peek through our large back window and there he is helping, even though it’s a difficult thing for him to do, he spends the rest of the day with us toiling and laboring for the Lord’s house. After he leaves and we are done for the day, I tell the children the story and I tell them, “let’s go plant these seeds!!” We go over the hill top by the lemon tree and crouch down and rake up a spot, we pray that the the Lord would use the seeds to bring forth something to share and that the Lord would bless him for giving what he had to give to us. One week later my children come find me in another spot in the yard running with squealing voices, so happy to share that the seeds have leaves and it looks like a plant!! And sure enough...today, they continue to grow! We can’t wait to share them with him, maybe even for a meal at our new house, the Lord’s house!!
Remember time is so short, each day we are given is such a gift from Him! What are we truly living for? The American dream? The new house? The happy-debt free life? The latest or greatest? We shouldn’t be! We need to share the hope and truth we have with others, so that all my hear and know the Love the father has for us! If your someone that maybe doesn’t understand, or doesn’t have that peace, you can ask the Lord right now wherever you’re at to fill you with His love and joy! It’s as easy as talking to a great friend, a friend who listens to your silly things and cares for all your troubles. Say, Jesus, I know I’ve done so many things wrong, I know you died for me, God take those wrong things I’ve done in my life and forgive me. I’m so sorry! You are a Holy, good God, may I be more like you. Give me a new heart, life and may I have your joy as I ask you to change my life forever! And He will, He will!!! He did that for me and I’ve never ever been the same and until I take my last breath, I want to keep on keeping on to share more of His love with others! I pray you’ll do the same...time is short! |
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