Fruity Lips

Hebrews 13:15 -- "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name."  

As the dust of the dirt road billowed at our feet and the tops of our heads grew hot in the tropic sunshine, my kindred spirit and I found our favorite bolder and climbed to the top.  Frozen goats milk hung from our mouths in skinny plastic bags so we could free up our hands for the climb.

Mountainous Mindanao, Philippines

At the top, we sat there, side by side, enjoying our goatmilk-cicles and the wide open view of corn, sugarcane,  rice, and gabillions of coconut trees.  She was my best friend.  I remember meeting her for the first time, the introduction had barely been uttered and the two of us bounded off into our own adventures, never again apart, really.  Sure, physical miles might come between us and our parents would retire from the mission field in two different States....but none of that ever mattered.

I was given the wonderful blessing of chatting with her yesterday.  We caught up on the goings on in one another's lives and as always, the miles and the time between us didn't matter.  It was pure joy to hear her voice.

And THAT, is what I wanted to share.  Her voice.  I know you can't hear it....but I was, and am frequently, amazed by this wonder woman.

The single mother of a fantastic little girl, my dear friend tells me how the Lord has provided for her in some pretty incredible ways.  She had been telling me about some pretty rough situations she's had to battle through and I kind of sat there, phone pressed tightly against my ear, with my jaw hanging open.  The thing is, she was thankful.  She stood firm in confidence that God would see her though and make sure that she and her daughter have everything they need.  This is no small task.  Some of her hurdles of late have been more like mountains, but she didn't even blink at them.  She shared with me concerns, prayer requests [all of them centered around her daughter, none of them about herself]....and then claimed her victory. She KNOWS, God's got her back. ....AND you could hear it in her voice.  Her lips bore the fruit of thanks.

It is not always easy to be thankful.  EVERYBODY knows that. I think, that's why the verse up there at the top of this page says to let us offer up a sacrifice of praise.  Sometimes it is, indeed, a sacrifice.

There were so many moments in our conversation [and in her life] that she could have done what she WANTED to do.  Go home to Mom and Dad, write an angry letter to the father of her little girl, curl up in a little ball and just give-up.  But she didn't DO any of that.  She offered up thanks to God for all He's done for her and her daughter.

In A Short History of England Gilbert Keith Chesterton says: "I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."

How TRUE!

After the hour and some odd I spent on the phone with my wonder-Mom-friend and the battery on her phone died our good-byes for us, I thanked the Lord that I was blessed by such an incredible friend.  ...and I was reminded to "continually offer up a sacrifice of praise."