"A Joy to My Savior"

"A Joy to my Savior"

written by my Grandmother, Belle Sandefur

Oh to be a joy to my Savior

To please Him in all that I do,

That He may smile and be glad for my service

In these trials I now am going through.

He alone can heal all my heartaches,

Dry the tears from my eyes from day to day;

Give me strength as I climb the highest mountain

And lead me gently as I walk the narrow way.

Yes, I know He is with me every moment

Though at times He may seem far away.

I can trust Him for He's proven His love to me

And He's the joy of my life every day.

I just wanted to share a poem that my dear grandmother wrote back in 1999. God has given her a talent for writing poetry that expresses her thoughts during each trial or storm she has weathered over the fifty-plus years she's walked with the Lord.

Grandmama has shared so many of her poems with me at different times in my life, and they've all become a treasure to me. She's been such an inspiration to me in my walk with the Lord all these years, and I'm so thankful that I can still call on her whenever I need to talk, hear her pray, or just listen to her words of wisdom. I have many memories of spending time with her and Granddaddy on the old swing under the trees in West Virginia. 

Today, as I was doing the typical household chores, I was reminded by the Holy Spirit that even the menial task of sweeping floors, can be a service for my King, as long as I do this "as unto the Lord." All of a sudden sweeping the floor didn't seem so "unimportant" after all. :o) Yes, we can be a joy to our Savior while doing our every-day, run-of-the-mill chores, as long as we are doing them "as unto the Lord." 

R.S.V.P.

And he said unto them, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."

Mark 6:31

Well, there was no blog entry yesterday for the simple reason of me just being plum worn-out...trying to catch up with some school work, and house work, among many other things.  But thankfully the Lord reminded me that sometimes He, too, had to come away from the crowd and get some rest.  It's important for us to listen to Him when He quietly suggests to us to "come away with Me, to a quiet place and get some rest."   

Being a musician, I am reminded of the word "rest" basically meaning "pause."   For us, it means "take a break, draw strength from the Lord, and think about what He has done."  After all, didn't He rest on the last day of Creation?   He wasn't tired, of course, but He did set an example for us--to take some time to STOP, think about what He's done in our lives, and just REST.  

"Play Me"

An instrument...this could be something used by a doctor to perform surgery, a tool used by a mechanic, or anything that a skilled person uses to perform a specific task.   Even in music, an instrument is used by a skilled person to perform--or to make beautiful music.

When I read Romans 6:13, "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God," I imagine the Lord as being a skilled Musician.   Then I apply this verse to my heart.  Am I an instrument in His hands?  I want to be an instrument in His hands used to make beautiful music.   Do you? 

Of course, instruments require some tuning every once in a while.  Thankfully His ears listen to me every day and can tell when something is not "sounding right."   In order for Him to make something beautiful out of my life, He needs to tune me first.   I need to yield to His every "twisting and turning" of the strings, and let Him "pluck the strings" until they sound just right.   After I have yielded myself completely to Him in the tuning process, He will begin to make music out of my life.  

Tuning takes time----so if you find yourself in the process of being "plucked," just be patient.  Sooner or later the Skilled Musician will begin to make a sweet sound from you, others will be blessed, and the Master Musician will be glorified in the masterpiece He has created!

The key is to just yield..and whisper, "Just Play Me."