Jack of All Trades

 . . . teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God. (Titus 2:3-5)

I wear many hats. I am . . . a HOUSEWIFE (of 32 years I must say)! I am also . . .  the MOTHER of two sons, and aspire to be a mother in the Lord as well.  I am . . .  one of two DAUGHTERS to my parents, and yet one of many daughters to my heavenly Father (2 Cor. 6:18 – ” . . . I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”)

I am . . .  also a PRIEST (Rev. 1:6 NLT – “He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father.” & 1 Pet. 2:5, 9 – “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. 9  . . . You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession.”)
“Fishing” is not my thing, although I have fished. Yet I am  . . . a FISHERMAN!
(Matt. 4:19 – “Jesus called out to them, Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”)

I am a . . . SERVANT! (John 12:26 – Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.”)

I am a . . . FARMER! Planting a garden is something I have always wanted to do, yet have never done. I will have to put that on my “bucket list”. Nevertheless, Jesus tells me, Rhonda, YOU are a farmer! (Luke 8:4-15 . . .  v. 5  . . .  “A farmer went out to plant his seed.”)

As I was doing my devotion this morning, I came across a portion of scripture that I know I have read many times before, but the Holy Spirit had shed “new light” upon it. I was reading about the woman and the dragon in Revelation chapter 12. Verse 17 says – “The dragon (who is Satan v. 9) was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children- all who keep God’s commandments and MAINTAIN their testimony for Jesus.” God showed me that I could “add another feather to my cap” because…

I am a  . . . MAINTENANCE woman! It takes work, hard work to maintain our testimony for Jesus. The world, our job, relationships, trials, etc. (you fill in the blank) vie to compete for our devotion to God. These things challenge our character and integrity. Now I never done maintenance on anything. The only thing I have ever “fixed” was a door. I don’t even know how I did it! I was the vehicle but the Lord was definitely driving that car! LOL! The door was completely off its two hinges. I not only reset the door in the hinges, but I held it up all by myself (no assistance) at the same time I was screwing in the plate hinges! It was a miracle! No kidding, I told you it was the Lord! The point I am trying to arrive at is this: fixing the door was not EASY. It took some tools, some sweat, a little frustration and a LOT of HARD work!

Back to my story, God never promised us a “rose garden”, and people (especially Christians who should know better) always love to wear those “rose colored” glasses. We think it helps us to see things better. Boy, are we fooled!

Jesus himself told us: Mark 10:24 (NLT) – “This AMAZED them. But Jesus said AGAIN, Dear children, it is VERY HARD to enter the Kingdom of God.” Luke tells us to ” . . . WORK HARD to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom.” 2 Pet. 1:5,10 says – ” . . . make EVERY EFFORT to respond to God’s promises.” v. 10 ” . . . WORK HARD to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen.” Heb. 12:14 – “WORK at living in peace with everyone, and WORK at living a holy life . . . “.

John 16: 33 – “Here on earth you WILL HAVE MANY trials and sorrows.” Now we want all the goodies God’s word promises. Right? I know I do, don’t you? But these are some hard words for us to swallow. Nevertheless, if we want to follow, truly follow Christ then we have got to accept the truth, the WHOLE TRUTH and nothing but the truth! The whole package!

I love following the Lord! It is an adventure and never has its dull moments. It has its joys and also its pains. Its highs and lows. However, I would not trade this life with Jesus for anything! I can now finally add that feather to my cap . . . MAINTENANCE WOMAN! I guess you could say . . . I am a JACK OF ALL TRADES!