The "Un" Word!

Are you familiar with the "un" word? Do I mean "unhappy", "uncontrolled", "unteachable", "unsure"? Well, I guess all of those words work together with the use of "un". So if the word "un" basically means "not" then why not use "not"? Like "not happy", "not controlled", "not teachable", "not sure", etc.!

But yesterday the "un" word kind of hit me in the face. I was with Evie. We had gone to Nebraska to see her sister and brother and families. We hadn't been there since Evie's mom died in December. So it was good seeing so much of the family. We had a great time especially out on the farm seeing new baby goats and my meeting, Opal, the llama who is usually trying to get away from Larry the llama who is usually in heat! What unique animals!

Then yesterday we went down to see Mel and Bob (Evie's brother and our sister-in-law). Mel had been back in the hospital and we helped get her moved back to the care facility and get settled. While we were waiting for Bob to get done so we could go out for dinner together, an elderly woman in a wheelchair by the name of Angie wheeled over. We had a nice talk and one of the things she asked me was ,"So what do you do for a living young man?" It kind of shocked me because the past month since leaving USF, I have been super busy networking and applying for jobs, etc. that I really hadn't had anyone ask me that question of "What do you do for a living?" I looked at Angie with a look like a deer in headlights and almost said, "Good question. I don't really know?" And then responded with my high of integrity and said, "Well Angie, I am unemployed?" Her response was, "Oh you poor man!"

You know up to that point I was doing pretty well yesterday until I was given the response from Angie of, "You poor man!" I immediately thought of someone sitting int he unemployment line at the D.O.L. or someone selling roses on the street corner or seeing a successful businessman who had lost his business working the drive-up lane at McDonalds. I had images of "loser"! And those were thoughts I hadn't really had the past month.

But then immediately God spoke to me, "Hey Mark, this is a GREAT opportunity for you to witness to this elderly woman." So I responded next with, "You know Angie, don't feel sorry for me. I am doing fine, in fact, I am doing GREAT!" God is so much in this Angie I can't begin to tell you. I am working on a business concept and I just feel at total peace!"

Later I was telling Evie about it and said I quickly I had moved from loser to winner in just a few sentences. And how pathetic we are when one of the first questions we ask a stranger when we meet them is, "So what do you do for a living?" Based on their response, we then place them in a box or category and move on in our minds to the next person.

So what would Jesus have said to Angie was something I thought about this morning when I was doing devotions? Would he say, "Angie, I am a self-employed consultant. I work for a company that is not based on this earth. I serve a master (sounds like a slave doesn't he?) and I don't really have a steady income (my master sees that I have food and shelter and clothes to wear!).

Yet, as Christians, there isn't one of us that doesn't think of Jesus as "THE WINNER" in life! He was the one who got it. Came from God and lived among us. He could have removed himself from the cross, from dying from a lot of hurt, etc. But he chose to stay here and face life as a man. WOW, what an example to us all.

So those of you out there that sometimes feel you are an "un"! Well you are "not"! You are someone VERY special, created by God and placed on this earth for a significant reason. I thought my reason was my ministry at USF. And I tried but that was the key the word "I"! Because what I have learned is that ministry isn't something that is about me. It is about God working through me.

So really, we all are "uns" if you think about it. Vessels that are empty, filled with God's love, hope, forgiveness and grace. May you move through your life today with your vessels and allow others to see what God is doing in your life. Be transformed by Christ and move forward as we all work toward the prize set before us!

Blessings!

Markus