Truth Lived Out

It was a sale that was to benefit our local crisis pregnancy center.
I was invited to the sale and planned my Saturday accordingly.
I knew that my youngest daughter would be home on spring break.
I also knew my daughter-in-love would be here for the weekend.

It was a sale for a line of clothing that is quite popular right now.
The bright colors and comfortable fabric make this clothing line a favorite of many.
The clothing line is also known for its leggings.
I like the clothing line because of their dresses.

I replied, yes, to the invitation.
I knew the kind of dress I wanted to purchase.
It is a style that not every seller carries in her inventory.
It is a simple dress, with a vintage look, that has pockets.

I love pockets.
There is something cozy about them.
You can stand with your hands in your pockets.
You have a place to keep your keys or your phone.

My daughter had a project that she was working on for school.
Only my daughter-in-love and I went to the sale.
The sale was in a private home.
I walked in and was amazed at the number of people that fit inside this house.

There were racks of clothes in every room.
Each room had a different salesperson.
If you could not find an item in one room, it was bound to be in the next.
I am used to this type of sale, my daughter-in-love was not.

Once you get used to how you search for an item, it becomes quite easy.
I searched for the dress with the pockets.
I was told that the salesperson in the dining room had that particular style.
The racks of clothing were clearly labeled and soon I found the style I for which I was searching.

Since this sale benefited the local crisis pregnancy center, mothers and babies were everywhere.
Each baby I saw was sweeter than the one before.
The homeowner even set up some toys in a family room so the children could play.
The children played while their mother shopped.

When you go to one of these sales, you have to find a place to try on some things.
Sometimes, you will be pointed you towards a spare bedroom.
Sometimes, you will be directed to a bathroom or powder room.
A downstairs powder room was the dressing room for this sale.

As I walked though the kitchen, I saw a man sitting up on the counter.
I knew that this was his home.
I knew that his wife was the one who offered their home as location for the sale.
He was happily talking to everyone as they entered the kitchen.

I knocked on the powder room door, holding two possible dresses in my hands.
Above the noise of all the voices, I could hear a voice, so I knew it was occupied.
I waited in an area that connected the kitchen to the laundry room.
I had to move because a woman needed to get into a closet behind me.

Please excuse my messy laundry room, the woman said.
I smiled noticing that nothing about this house was messy.
I knew then that this woman was the homeowner and our host for the afternoon.
Thank you so much for opening your home to all of us, I said to her in all sincerity.

Oh, this is God’s house and He can use it anyway He sees fit, she said sweetly.
She walked back into the kitchen.
Her words kept tumbling in my mind.
This is God’s house.

I tried on the dresses and knew the one I wanted to buy.
My daughter-in-love found a dress with pockets as well.
I saw quite a few people I knew and had the pleasure of talking to them.
I paid for our things and we left the house.

I told my daughter-in-love what the woman said to me.
Her words convicted me, I said as we walked down the driveway.
I know that everything I have belongs to God, but do I say that so openly?
Do I admit that all I have and all I am are His?

We both were quiet as we got into the car.
The woman’s words fell like fresh rain on my heart.
They were genuine and pure.
The ease with which she said those words blessed me and lingered in my spirit.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. (Psalm 24:1)

We are simply stewards of all that God has given to us.
What we have, ultimately belongs to Him, as this sweet woman said so readily.
We must hold what we are given loosely.
God gives and God takes away.

How many of us believe that our homes belong to God?
How many of us believe that our money belongs to God?
How many of us believe that our children belong to God?
How many of us believe that all we are and all we do belong to God?

There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine! (Abraham Kuyper)

God is the owner.
We are the stewards.
If we really plant that truth down deep in our hearts, how differently would we live?
If we really believe that truth, how would we treat other people that God puts in our lives?

This is God’s house and He can use it anyway He sees fit.
Truer words were never spoken.
I am so grateful for the reminder.
God is the owner; I am the steward.

Think about it.