My dear friend, Elizabeth...

God brought Elizabeth into my life a little over a year ago. Little did I know how much God was blessing me when He did.

Elizabeth is my little "Energizer Bunny" friend. She is constantly moving and busy, usually serving her family, her friends and our church. Rarely herself. She is also one of the most giving and thoughtful people I know. She is ever ready to give a helping hand to others, thinks of others before herself and gives of her time generously. She humbles me on a regular basis, for I am too frequently selfish and stingy with my resources and time, even if only in my mind where no one but God knows. 

Where she humbles me the most is her gratitude. 

Yesterday, she and her family were one of families that had to evacuate their humble home because of the flood that was coming to Cedar Rapids. During one of the many phone calls we exchanged, as she was moving her items to the upper story of her home, she shared this with me:

Elizabeth: Amy, I was telling my husband that I just feel like crying!

Me: Oh, honey...*thinking to myself...It would be so hard to know that you could lose your home and everything.* 

Elizabeth: *spoken through tears* God has been so good to me! People from church are calling me and offering their help. I have real friends! God has given me friends who really care about us... 

I was humbled to my toes...I would have been crying about the possibility of losing my stuff and home, but not Elizabeth. She was crying out of GRATITUDE because God had blessed her with a church family who loves her. 

As of today, her home is flooded. Perhaps up to 7 feet of water is in her neighborhood. Guess what she is concerned about? Getting the church cleaned for Sunday. (She and her husband are the church's janitors.) It will be a week or two before we can get to her house, so I will do what I can and help her with cleaning the church later today. It's the least I can do... 

God brought Elizabeth into my life a little over a year ago. Little did I know how much God was blessing me when He did.

Elizabeth is my little "Energizer Bunny" friend. She is constantly moving and busy, usually serving her family, her friends and our church. Rarely herself. She is also one of the most giving and thoughtful people I know. She is ever ready to give a helping hand to others, thinks of others before herself and gives of her time generously. She humbles me on a regular basis, for I am too frequently selfish and stingy with my resources and time, even if only in my mind where no one but God knows. 

Where she humbles me the most is her gratitude. 

Yesterday, she and her family were one of families that had to evacuate their humble home because of the flood that was coming to Cedar Rapids. During one of the many phone calls we exchanged, as she was moving her items to the upper story of her home, she shared this with me:

Elizabeth: Amy, I was telling my husband that I just feel like crying!

Me: Oh, honey...*thinking to myself...It would be so hard to know that you could lose your home and everything.* 

Elizabeth: *spoken through tears* God has been so good to me! People from church are calling me and offering their help. I have real friends! God has given me friends who really care about us... 

I was humbled to my toes...I would have been crying about the possibility of losing my stuff and home, but not Elizabeth. She was crying out of GRATITUDE because God had blessed her with a church family who loves her. 

As of today, her home is flooded. Perhaps up to 7 feet of water is in her neighborhood. Guess what she is concerned about? Getting the church cleaned for Sunday. (She and her husband are the church's janitors.) It will be a week or two before we can get to her house, so I will do what I can and help her with cleaning the church later today. It's the least I can do...