"Tell me," I said to my housekeeper. "What do you do to draw closer to God?"
She stopped sweeping, leaned on the broom, and smiled.
"I pray," she said. She paused, searching for the right words. "I ask God to change my mind."
Although I generally understood her broken English, this comment stumped me. I cocked my head. "Change your mind?"
"Sometimes we focus on one little problem," she said. She held her hands up and pinched her thumb and forefinger together, "and we fail to see the good that is around us..." She paused, collecting her thoughts.
I could only imagine the problems this humble Hispanic woman had, struggling to learn the language and earning a meager living cleaning houses.
"Yes, that's true," I said, nodding in agreement.
"We have so much to be thankful for," she added, "...the family, the friends, the sunshine, the air we breathe."
She shifted the broom, pushed several strands of thick dark hair away from her face, and offered a knowing smile.
"God is so big and I'm so little," she said. She looked at me, waiting for my response.
"Right," I said, still a little confused. "What's the change you pray for?"
"I ask to see him, not with my eyes," she said, "but with my soul."
Wow! Such a simple, yet powerful prayer.
It's why I love talking to her. It's why I keep her employed. Our conversations are priceless.
She summed it up beautifully.
"We are here to do His will, not the other way around," she said. "He sees the bigger picture. He knows what's best for us...not just here...but for eternity."
With that, she returned to sweeping the floors.
How about you? What do you do to draw closer to God? Sometimes I listen to music and make the song my prayer. Here's one that does just that:
Click here for today's song, Draw Me Close by Michael W Smith
No comments:
Post a Comment