Why’s my bed wet?

                  My hot water bottle leaked in my bed last night. I was going to say it burst, because that would sound more dramatic, but it didn’t burst, it just leaked, a lot. I knew it was leaking when I had to get up early in the morning to visit the bathroom. I didn’t do anything about it though. I simply pushed it to one side and went back to sleep. Silly really. My pajamas were already a little damp, and I knew it would only get worse. But I was half asleep, and focusing on getting a few more hours before I had to get up. Then when I woke later my pajamas were very wet, and so was my bed. Now I had to do something about it.

                  It took me a while before I realised that I had to deal with my wet bed and pajamas, and in my prayer time later I recognised that there were other things in my life which I have tended to put off rather than deal with them straight away. The first time God convicts me would be the best time to deal with anything! And if I don’t then later on it will a bit more work. Or if I leave it too long then it will be a lot more work.

                  Actually I did do something when I first realised my hot water bottle was leaking – I moved it away from me. Clearly not a full solution, but I did do something. And I always do something when God shows me some behaviour I need to deal with, but it might be half-hearted. Surprisingly half-hearted rarely solves the problem.

                  It shocks me how easily, even now, I speak negatively about myself. Believe it or not, I can be very passive. I remind myself that Jesus loves me, and nothing else matters. And whilst it is the most wonderful truth that I am loved by the Lord, there is a lot that matters beyond that. I need to rise up and be all that God has called me to be. Even if my body aches, and things don’t seem to work as well as they used to, there is no time for passivity. I believe we are all called to be co-workers with the Lord. That is not reserved for pastors and missionaries and other Christian leaders – that is for all of us. It may not mean teaching from the front, but it does mean teaching – we are to share what we have learned with those the Lord brings our way. When a friend shares something she is struggling with, I can sympathise, and tell her that I am sorry, but I can also offer to pray for her. I have done this many times, and it is very rare for a person to say no to that. Of course sometimes they are surprised when they realise that I mean right here and now, but once they get past the shock they bow their heads and allow me to bring this problem to the Saviour. And we can do this for anyone.

                  One day I was rowing at my club, and a young couple had also taken boats out. The husband had managed to get himself stuck amongst the reeds, and was having a really hard time getting himself free. His wife waited anxiously on the dock with me, and since I am a more experienced rower she turned to me and asked what could be done for her husband. I quickly responded that we could pray for him, and when she looked shocked I offered to be the one who prayed. She didn’t respond so I simply went ahead and prayed out loud that her husband would get free from the reeds. About ten seconds after I said amen he was free.

                  I wasn’t being passive that day on the dock. But today I’m not there. I’m home, and I don’t want to be passive here either. It would be so easy to play games on the computer, to read a book, to make lunch and to feel sorry for myself because I don’t have anything important to do. Or I can recognise that I do have important work to do. I’m going to be in God’s Word, proclaiming out loud the truth about who I am. And with that truth in mind, I am going to pray for my family, my friends, my church, my community, my country. Maybe I will play a little on the computer, but then I will take my dog for a walk, praying as I go. Perhaps I will meet someone who I can encourage in some way. Even a simple smile can lift another person’s spirits, so I will smile at as many people as I can. I have something to give away, and if all that I can give to another person today is a smile, at least I can give them that.

                  I have faced this issue so many times in my life, you’d think I would be doing better by now. And I was. But then I needed to change my local church. And after that my family moved a long way away. That left me feeling a little isolated, lonely. Yes I had lost my church family and my blood family, but I had not lost my relationship with the Lord. The truth of who I am is the same, and I will choose to walk in that truth.

                  And I’ve ordered a new hot water bottle.