I don't know about you, but when I go to the salon to get my haircut I find it difficult submitting my head to the lady with the crazy chopped-up hair-do. Why? Because I think that if I let her start snipping then I'll end up like her.
Its the same thing with adds on TV. If I wear that shirt...I want to look like her. Or, "Surely those pills don't work...look how unhappy he is." And on, and on.
Well, guess what...you are a walking-talking-billboard for the lifestyle you lead.
I heard a story about a lady who became a Christian after ten years of marriage. She found Christ and wanted desperately for her husband to make the same choice. She pushed and pulled. She nagged and bribed. She tried everything to get him to read the Bible, go to church, and be saved.
At each and every attempt she failed miserably. Finally, she stopped trying and started praying. God told her to leave her husband's soul to Him. This lady then started to simply live her Christian life just as God gave it to her. She became happier as she learned to give her worries over to Him and to rely on His strength and guidance.
And then the miracle happened.
One day she was cooking up supper after a long day at work and after having to redirect the poor attitudes of their teenage boys. As she cooked she hummed one of her favorite hymns, praying for her family, and finding peace in the quiet of her little kitchen. "Wow." She heard her husband whisper and looked up to see him watching her. "I don't know how you do it." She stopped and stared at him and said, "Me neither, but I'm thankful."
That Sunday her husband actually drove the family to church. Later he confessed that he'd been watching her for years. He'd thought the whole "being saved" thing was a joke. He said he didn't understand why his wife kept insisting that Christ was wonderful and powerful and life changing. All he saw was an unhappy nagging wife with nothing about the Christian life that seemed worth adopting. But when she'd let it go and allowed God's love and peace to reign, she became positive advertisement for the Christian lifestyle.
I love her story. I think of her and tell myself, "Remember, they're watching.
Photo by Leonid Mamchenkov
Its the same thing with adds on TV. If I wear that shirt...I want to look like her. Or, "Surely those pills don't work...look how unhappy he is." And on, and on.
Well, guess what...you are a walking-talking-billboard for the lifestyle you lead.
I heard a story about a lady who became a Christian after ten years of marriage. She found Christ and wanted desperately for her husband to make the same choice. She pushed and pulled. She nagged and bribed. She tried everything to get him to read the Bible, go to church, and be saved.
At each and every attempt she failed miserably. Finally, she stopped trying and started praying. God told her to leave her husband's soul to Him. This lady then started to simply live her Christian life just as God gave it to her. She became happier as she learned to give her worries over to Him and to rely on His strength and guidance.
And then the miracle happened.
One day she was cooking up supper after a long day at work and after having to redirect the poor attitudes of their teenage boys. As she cooked she hummed one of her favorite hymns, praying for her family, and finding peace in the quiet of her little kitchen. "Wow." She heard her husband whisper and looked up to see him watching her. "I don't know how you do it." She stopped and stared at him and said, "Me neither, but I'm thankful."
That Sunday her husband actually drove the family to church. Later he confessed that he'd been watching her for years. He'd thought the whole "being saved" thing was a joke. He said he didn't understand why his wife kept insisting that Christ was wonderful and powerful and life changing. All he saw was an unhappy nagging wife with nothing about the Christian life that seemed worth adopting. But when she'd let it go and allowed God's love and peace to reign, she became positive advertisement for the Christian lifestyle.
I love her story. I think of her and tell myself, "Remember, they're watching.
Photo by Leonid Mamchenkov
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