some of you may know how hard this year has been, and one area of which has been the stretching experience of renting a room from an elderly lady. from the teeth sitting around the house, to the dirty bathroom and kitchen, to the mystery meat stinking up the house, to the yelling (because she's deaf, not angry)...yes, it has been an experience. and now it is soon to be over.
but today i was reminded that we see not as He sees. today as yesterday, doña teresa insisted on my sharing lunch with her (which was fried fishies--spines, heads, fins and all--and rice dishes) and today as the conversation wove its way through doctrinal thoughts and family issues it happened upon extraterrestrial life (bear with me here) and as she affirmed that there must be life in "otro mundo" i said, "pues, cuando usted llegue al cielo, pueda preguntar a Dios" to which she replied that she wasn't going to the cielo, to the infierno maybe but not the cielo because she wasn't a perfect person.
at this point i had the opportunity to share that it is by faith, not buenas obras that we are saved and if we believe in Jesucristo's death and resurrection, His blood for us, we can indeed go to the cielo. well, a bit later she said if that were so then yes, she was going. in humility i almost cried. here a catholic raised to fear Dios and yet confident that the same Dios in whom she believed would calmly send her to the infierno has come--i trust--to know that grace has triumphed over judgment. and Dios used me, in spite of my frustrations and failings to share this hope.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. --Tolkien
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Worth every second sitting next to those teeth!
ReplyDeleteAbigail, yo no vi este poste antes de hoy. Da las gracias para compartirlo. Cuán gran un privilegio para hablarle el evangelio a alguien, y para ver el poder el trabajo de ello en el corazón. ¿Esta mujer fue ciertamente valora el viaje, no?
ReplyDelete