CSU's Community Appreciation Day comes every October. Tuesday, eight college girls descended on my place, and for the better part of the morning helped me do things I can't do, things like flip a queen-size mattress and vacuum under the bed, clean out and organize the paint closet, load snow tires into my car, move boxes, prepare my vegetable garden for winter, and ready a section behind my garage for grass seed--which meant picking out buckets full of Pennsylvania rocks and stones. What a great group of girls!Most of these chores have one thing in common. They require lifting.
I never realized how valuable physical strength is until left-over limitations from a car accident prevented me from lugging the vacuum cleaner upstairs, moving anything of substance, or even taking a turkey out of the oven. When those with strength give me a hand, I'm amazed at all they can do. Their help means so much to me.
In this life I'll never be strong physically, yet I am thankful for what I can do. It's all in how you look at it.
There are other ways to be strong. We say a person is strong when they demonstrate courage in the face of adversity or rise above unfortunate circumstances. They model hope when we find ourselves in a weakened position.
The theme of God's strength permeates the Bible. He is all-powerful and at the same time shares His strength with earthbound weaklings like us. "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10). And the verse that got me out of bed on many mornings after the crash: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). So, how strong are you?
I identify with not having strength. Thankfully, we have a God who is our strength. Thanks for sharing, Sarah.
ReplyDeleteI think of Nehemiah 8:10 - "The joy of the LORD is your strength." In the deepest sense, I think this joy is referring to is an awareness of His presence always being with us. Not only does it give us cause for joy, but that joy becomes our strength.
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