"that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing."
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
That's my ambition...a quiet life in a little house surrounded by trees and hills. Minding my own business and working with my hands. That's the stuff dreams are made of. Behaving properly and having people respect me and the way I live...that's what I would like.
There are a few trees around my house and plenty of (ant) hills. However, my life is hardly what one would call quiet although there are moments of peace and even solitude. I had a wonderful opportunity to "mind my own business" too. It was a little shop called "Agape Gifts & Crafts". It was filled with handiwork of all kinds, made by many people (including the owners of the shop -myself and two good friends). It was a special time in my life and through it I was blessed in so many ways. Now I work with my hands and make gifts to give to family & friends plus, before I know it I'll be teaching my grandbabies how to create things too!
But, maybe I need to look at this a little differently. Maybe the quiet life I'm seeking isn't so much my surroundings, maybe it's a quiet within myself. The "be still and know" (Psalm 46:10) kind of quiet. So I can hear and listen to God and get to know Him better. Then there's the "minding my own business" stuff. I think I need to make sure I spend plenty of time examining my own life before I try to "offer advice" to another (Matt 7:1&5). When I think of working with my hands I automatically think about some kind of craft...handmade stuff, that's where my mind went right away when I read the verse above. But now - as I've been typing I've been thinking about all the "works of my hands"...the ones in my home, in my church, where I work and in my neighborhood. The Lord has given me so many opportunities to serve diligently and to work for His glory. Even if I haven't exactly achieved my goals the way I thought I would I need to remember that God has me right where He wants me and I had better do the best I can right where I am...right now!
P.S I found the "quiet life" picture at the following website. There are lots of beautiful landscapes there!
2 comments:
Oh Marie, what a beautiful post! I so love those verses as they speak to us all....especially women who do so much with their hands for their families! Welcome to the land of Blog and you will find an incredible support system here, friends galore and more inspiration than you've ever seen! xxoo, Dawn
Those words need to be written on my heart. How wonderful that I stumbled upon the verse in your blog- sometimes the things we need to hear are in the strangest places!
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