Tangible Love

James 2:26- " So then, as the body without the spirit is dead, also faith without actions is dead. (NCV) I receive in my email, devotionals from the website Girlfriends in God, www.girlfriendsingod.com. Yesterday's was particularly helpful to me. It was written by Kathi Lipp and entitled "From Intention to Action." Read it for yourself, you will be blessed. She wrote about the aftermath of the death of her father and how touched she was by those who showed tangible evidence of their love towards the family and expressed God's love towards them in their grief. I don't want to give it away, but I was struck by the expression that although "there were hundreds of Facebook messages and emails," it was the cares and the flowers and the "showing up" when needed that truly impacted her life. All of which reminded me of my desire to honor my friend Mary's memory in some "tangible" way. Ms. Lipp said there were 2 things that she "did to stop thinking about loving others and get busy doing it." They were "#1. Pray. Pray that God would show you who needs encouragement today, and #2. Set up Systems of accomplishing that, either through cards, casseroles, a stack of $5 Starbucks cards, whatever." And I realized that this so emphasized the verse above in James 2:26. Someone once wrote, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," and that's true. It's easy to intend to show someone you care, but it takes effort to show them. Showing God's love to others is what impacts their life. In effect, that's my intention with this blog, is to show whomever reads it how God is impacting my life and telling you, the reader, that He will do the same for you. But if we listen to the Holy Spirit's nudging, that's not enough. So how do I tangibly show you faith? I remember when I was on the 5K I did my best to encourage others who passed me on the path, I remember at the end of the race stopping the couple who were walking in front of me during the whole race and thanking them for the encouragement they gave me to keep going and I especially remember high-fiving the people who were cheering me on at the end of the race to keep going. They impacted me so much that I want to do the same for others. At this point, the best way I can show you, the reader, God's love, is to not quit, keep on with this journey to liveliving in every area of my life and share with you how God's is working in and through me. Back to Mary. Mary had 3 great loves: her relationship with her Lord Jesus, Her family and her pets. Unconditionally, she loved them all. She showed her Lord she loved Him when she praised Him in song and in her prayers and by giving her time and many times of her meager means to others; she showed her family she loved them by going to as many sporting events and other activities that they were involved in as she physically could and babysitting her grandbabies when her health allowed (and sometimes even when it didn't); she showed her pets she loved them by welcoming strays into her home and providing for them when they would have otherwise died. There weren't a lot of people at her funeral and one might think that she didn't impact many lives, but to those whom she loved in word and in deed, she loved fully and down the road that will have an impact on them and on others. So Father, show me today someone who needs encouragement and how to do that, how to show them you love them, tangibly. You came so that they might have life (not good intentions), and have it more abundantly. In Jesus' name I am eagerly looking for that person you want to give life to.