| James 1:17 – “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” |
I was getting ready to leave our church after worship this morning. I was going to Fort Worth to have lunch with my mother. My wife was going to our home, and we had driven separate cars. I hugged her as I told her goodbye. We were in the preschool wing of our church building. Then I gave her a kiss. No one was in our line of sight. It was a private “public display of affection”. Me: “Is it ok to kiss in church?” She: “This isn’t the first time.” I immediately thought of the evening we got married in this same building back in 1989. Yes, almost 35 years ago, I kissed her in front of 350 – 500 friends and family members. So, what is a kiss in private in the same place. God saw them both.
Earlier, I was a greeter at the north entrance. I had left the house before my wife as I had to be there early and she didn’t. As I was leaving, I poured some orange juice into my thermos so I could drink it on the way. I put the orange juice jug back in the refrigerator, and turned around and grabbed my thermos. When I got in the car and sipped from it, I realized I had goofed. I tasted water and not orange juice. I had grabbed the wrong one as I walked out. One was bright orange from my days working at AutoZone, and the other was silver and had the red letters “PAPA” across it’s middle. I decided I would live and proceeded on down the road.
Later, as I was greeting my fellow worshipers, I thought about my orange juice sitting on the counter at home. I thought I could save it being spoiled by calling my wife and asking her to return it to the fridge before she left the house. As I was thinking this, she drove by my door as she parked her car. Too late for that now. When I finished my greeting duties, I decided to run home and get my orange juice so it wouldn’t be wasted. When I got home, it was not on the counter where I left it. It was now in the fridge, and very cold. She had noticed it sitting out, and put two and two together. I wanted to hug her right then, but she was not in the house.
I thought about what a wonderful thing I got the day I kissed her in front of all of those witnesses. No regrets. God made woman for man, and called her a “help meet suitable”. Such a fitting description for God’s precious gift. It has taken me a long time to appreciate what I have received, but I believe I see her in just that way now. The little and big things she does for me are precious in my sight now. Laundry, cooking. One day I was dripping sweat in our garage, working on our car. My hands were black with grease and brake dust. Here she came with a plate of food and a cool drink. That was worth so much to me. I love her for those things.
Father in heaven, thank You so much for the good things You give us, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
-Jeff Beall
