Oh hey there Friday: 5 Minutes on…Backwards

Ready for this? I’ve been waiting for Friday with bated breath…and I sure am happy it’s here!  Hope you are too and I’d love to read what you come up with for this prompt (it was a hard one for me!)

Backwards:

“Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12

I love reading and I love reading books with people so Kelly Minter’s “The Fitting Room” happening over at the Bloom Book Club through (in)courage fit right into my summer plans.

The verse the book focuses around is that lovely one above…but see, the thing I’m realizing about a lot of things is that I get it backwards.  I start out with the list of “do’s” rather than the “be” and the this is who you are.

Lately, that’s been my heart…to BE. to BE comfortable in my own skin. to BE comfortable with my story. to BE myself. to BE who God called and made me to BE.

Back to the verse…even in Bible college, I heard over and over whenever you see a “therefore” pay attention!  Get the order right.  Go first and see what’s behind and then look at the verse.

As a daughter of the King, I GET to wear these clothes.  I am not a daughter because I wear the clothes and I sure can’t manufacture the clothes myself.  Nope.  They come with who I am not what I do.

Such a leap from my head to my heart.  To get those truths deep within my heart rather than just up in my head.

i see you.

I saw him sitting on the steps waiting with a slightly guilty look on his face.  I didn’t know him.  I was walking toward my next destination.  Instead of walking by I chose to ask what was up.  He informed me that he was told to stay here but that he wasn’t sure if they forgot about him…

My heart broke.

I saw myself in the little man sitting on the steps waiting for someone to notice him.

I jumped to action made him laugh a little after I solved his problem and released him from his position on the steps to go about his day.

….

She cozied up next to me and before long we were chattering away.  Playing silly games like what time is it, how long can I hold my breath, rock paper scissors, where will the ball go, and are you ticklish.

A few times, I’d engage in another conversation, but she’d draw me back and I’d be back giving her my full attention.

….

I don’t remember if it was the “15 minutes left” mixed with the “What do you hear” or the six line memoir or a completely other post talking about what you want to be known for…but lately and more often than not my heart gravitates to this:

God sees you; see others.

I want to be known for stopping, noticing, engaging, connecting, not letting moments pass me by, and for giving my full undivided attention to whoever is in front of me.  I want to see you.  To let Him show you that you aren’t forgotten. You are loved.

Do you see others? What do you want to be known for?