I was once again in the busy trolley strewn car park of my local shopping centre when I was inspired to write this blog. Heavenlyjava has been a little quiet as of late, and the reason is that I moved house and prior to that had several unexpected holidays which were such blessings. Now, here I am perched on my bed with the laptop, my new place is now sorted to the stage where I can relax and so here goes. I’m going to get back into my writing routine.
I was inspired to write ‘Thank you Joyce Meyer’ because she has inspired me in many ways. Most of you would know her testimony which is one of incredible healing and then wonderful ministry to people in spite of a terrible start in life. She is a strong, resilient, tough yet compassionate woman. She does not hold her punches yet has an empathy and tender heart to those who reach out to Jesus for help. But this blog is only one of the reasons I have to thank Joyce Meyer – she has inspired me yes, her simple but profound take on the bible has helped me to grow, but it was her talk about a simple shopping trolley that had me inspired to write today.
Now Joyce lives in the USA. They have ‘shopping carts’ there. Here in Australia we call them a shopping trolley. Several times I have heard Joyce say that she always returns her shopping cart to the store, or to the rack where they are stored. Now Joyce is a busy woman. She has lots of people to minister to, yet she is humble enough to put her shopping cart away. She does this because it helps the people whose job it is to collect them. In my car park, a man is always collecting loads of them. It is a heavy and hot job. You might say he gets paid to collect them. Yes he does, but I bet it’s not much. So does the person who picks up your rubbish on the road. But is that a reason to still drop it there? Now I always hear Joyce Meyer’s voice reminding me to put away my shopping cart. For that I say ‘Thank you Joyce Meyer’.
What I’m getting at is our attitude. We can be nice to the person behind the counter, we can take our trolley back. We can put our rubbish in the bin provided. We can signal another driver to take the first turn out of the car park. We can stop for kids, old ladies and dogs on the road. When did we start thinking that the world owes us a living. Why do we feel that it is a privilege to let others wait on us to pick up after us? I think it is a result of the ‘me me’ world we live in. We’re too busy, too tired, too self absorbed, too important, too lazy or just plain ‘too selfish’ to do our part.
One summer I had the worst migraine and it was 35 degrees outside. I had to stop at the supermarket and just this one time, I left my trolley. I was about to vomit but an old man told me I should return it to the trolley bay. Bristling with indignation and self pity I whined that I always put my trolley away but that today I was sick. So I left it. I got to the car as another wave of nausea hit me, but I turned around and walked back and put that darn trolley away. The old man said ‘good on you lady’ and I could almost hear Joyce giving me a pat on the back. That day I did not really say ‘Thank you Joyce Meyer’ but it has only been that one time. Through rain, hail or shine, I put that trolley away cos if famous and spiritual Joyce can put away her trolley, then so can I.
So, not a super spiritual post today, but one that reminds me just how grateful I am that God loves me, that he loves you and that we as Christians can show our love to the world, not just by being evangelists but by leading by example and just being kind, considerate and thoughtful to those around us.
Thrive 