Is your imagination getting the best of your curiosity? This little vignette is from when we lived in a condo, and our unit was just steps from the trash bin room. I wouldn’t admit to being a dumpster diva, but for the record, I did keep a vigilant eye on a regular routine looking for “treasures” that people would part with and deposit in that room. I was shocked at the nice things people were throwing away.
Some of the things were like new, and from other stories you’ve read you’ll know by now that many of these precious finds went on to my street friends. I’m not going to fill you in on all the many items I transferred from the trash room in our condo, but there is one that is worth sharing. You guessed it, the like “new” portable commode.
When my husband came home from work that evening, I had conveniently left it parked in the foyer of our little condo. My purpose in leaving it there was to sanitize it, and then explode with enthusiasm as my thoughts contemplated its future potential. My husband wasn’t as keen on its potential as I was, but it was so detailed in its design (and I won’t elaborate on that either), and it would be such a help to someone, sometime, somewhere.
Our condo was so small, we had to take it downstairs to our 4’ x 6’ storage area. My poor husband could not help but share his disgust all the way down the elevator and hallway, and then having to put this “thing” in our storage area for everyone to see. Our storage area was so full, that we just had to toss it up on top of the other boxes and hope for the best.
Months and months went by without a need. Then, the day came. We had a lovely neighbor many doors down the hall, who had fallen down a flight of stairs. She was still in agony – having just returned to her condo after staying in the hospital for days. Her husband was out of town, and she had a friend come to stay with her until he was able to return home from a business trip. We had heard about her fall and her condition and so I contacted her friend in the afternoon, and went over that evening to visit her with a casserole in hand.
My neighbor shared her story and as she did, her needs began to unfold. I looked around and thought about all she had shared with me. There was one area of specific need … she could remain on only one floor. How would she be able to get to a bathroom for “refreshment and the urgent” personal routine needs? She told me that she needed her friend to be there all the time to be able to escort her up some steps to get to the bathroom. It was a painful experience just trying to lift herself from step to step.
Idea! Idea! The portable potty would be perfect for her needs for the coming months of healing. YES, I said to myself. I have the perfect solution. I shared my thought and enthusiasm for a solution, and my neighbor sighed and cried with relief knowing I had such a portable helper. It took me 15 minutes to locate the potty and bring it to her condo. Being well designed it could adjust for any size, and height. Isn’t that exciting? I couldn’t wait until my husband came home from work to share the news.
Yes, God can use anything to bless another’s’ life. This “portable potty chair” opened up a number of discussions about Christ. My neighbor just couldn’t be more pleased and relieved (good word here) that her needs were being met. I also was able to share how I had been praying for her for months prior. Tears of appreciation just rolled down her face. She was a happy camper and God got the glory.
Published by Dianne Horne
I can’t think of anything I enjoy more than to see lives changed! There’s nothing more that puts “oxygen and joy” into my life than to bring the application of Scripture into the “shoe leather” of our lives and to share it with others.
I feel awkward speaking about myself, but I understand it can be helpful to enable others to relate to and enjoy the work of our Lord does in other people. Another down-to-earth way of sharing who I am, is that I love to eat, laugh and to talk about the Lord. I’m not a very exciting individual, but my Savior sure is!
I’ve been happily married for many years, and I now reside in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. God has transplanted my husband and I 28 times in our years together; and it is only when in His presence that you can ask the “why questions” as to the adjustments He’s brought us “to” and “through” in the numerous locations and countries we have lived.
God’s care, love, forgiveness, faithfulness and moment-by-moment presence has not only carried me (when I had every reason to fall apart), but lifted me to a joy I’ve never known. There’s one thing to have joy when things are going great, and quite another dimension of joy and peace when everything in your world is crumbling and unknown. Most of our lives will appear like “ordinary oatmeal living”, but when we allow Him to “establish our steps”, He alone takes our mundane acts of kindness or aid and makes them “extraordinary” for His purpose in the lives of others.
The seasons of caring for my parents and the associated grieving process has forever changed me. It was my honor, joy and privilege to participate with my Lord in what He was accomplishing in their lives, as they both gave their lives to Jesus Christ just days before they were escorted into His presence in heaven. The medical challenges and decisions that needed to be made for a number of those years thrust me into a trust and dependence upon the Lord that I had never known up to that point in my life.
In my journey, I’ve come to realize that our “weakness” is our greatest “strength”, because real power, provision, and His purpose being carried out in and through our lives, depends on Him orchestrating such through His sovereignty.
My “heartbeat of fulfillment” lies in sharing with women, in various settings, helping them to enjoy, study and apply the principles of God’s Word in a down-to-earth fashion. I thrive interacting with women and encouraging them to put their trust in the One Who knows them best and loves them extravagantly; and to prioritize “spending time alone with God each day” developing their relationship with Him. Our lives aren’t designed to just get answers to prayer….but to know and love a very personal Savior, and to surrender daily to “His plans, His agenda and purpose” for our lives.
Several years ago I was challenged to respond to a critical question I had never considered: Why do you exist? What’s your purpose in life?
I live to bring an expression of God in the ordinary events of life, seizing every opportunity of serving and delighting in others. I want my life to be an infectious expression of His love for others, and for them to know how special “they are” to Him; and thus be contagious with His grace.
My life compass is: After people spend time with me, what do they think of Jesus Christ?
The stories that will appear in my blog, are true events that have taken place in my journey. They’re all “very ordinary” circumstances that have occurred through sharing them with Jesus and watching Him orchestrate and demonstrate what He can do when we yield “our ordinary” to the Extraordinary One.
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