How do you make your bed?

This past weekend I had the honor of staying with my grandfather overnight. It brings me such joy to be with him and stay in "his" house. There is just some sort of peace that flows through me when I am there that makes me never want to leave. My mom and Dad live just a
few houses down so at one point I dropped the kids to my moms house so they could spend some time with her and so that I could sneak in a run around their perfect little neighborhood. I ended up sitting and talking with my Pop for a while and talking about life, what it is like now and what it was like "then" in his time. I honored him, encouraged him and told him what a great man he was, and how wonderful my childhood was because of my grandmother and him. I also let him know how much I loved him because after all, he is the first man I ever did love and I still to this day absolutely adore him. Being with him I am reminded that his days are shorter than most, turning 92 this September, and I even felt myself wishing and praying "God, if you could let one person live forever, could it be my Pop"? I cant help but selfishly always want to be his favorite, dreaming of the days when I rode on his shoulders and curled up in his lap having him ask me how much I loved him and little tiny me replying with "2 minutes".

I told him this visit that IF I never got married and never had children that I would be a top executive in a big company and I would live with him and take care of him all the rest of his days. He had a good chuckle about that one!

I want to be sure that he knows how much he is loved and needed and how important he is to this life so that when he goes home to be with the Lord it will be with a smile and a filled heart.

As I was praying that my Pop could live forever I was cleaning "my" room and making "my" bed, I automatically started making the bed his way. Top spread folded over and tucked over and under the pillow. Its so funny because this is not how I make my beds at home, in fact I dont even think it looks nice, but it is inbred in me to make his beds that way and it brings me such joy to do it because I know its what makes him happy. It was how I was taught to make a bed by my grandmother and I am a perfectionist when it comes to doing it because her beds were always perfect! Not a wrinkle or bump in sight! I laughed to myself while doing it because when I am at his house I do everything his way, I know how he likes his towels folded, his chairs pushed in, his bathroom shower to be wiped after showering and how his beds are to be made. He asked if I would come in October to give his house a fall cleaning " a womans touch" as he says even though he is a way better cleaner than many women! I told him to get everything ready (He buys new curtains for each season) and that I would be happy to come and do it. Im honored actually not only because I get to follow in my grandmothers footsteps as a keeper of her house, but because of all the women in my Pops life, he asked me to do it.

The bible says" All of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward eachother, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds". 1 Peter 3:8

"Continue to show deep love for eachother, for love covers a multitude of sins". 1 Peter 4:8

Imagine if EVERY person we met we decided to treat with this kind of love. What if we decided we were going to say one nice thing to somebody about themselves every day knowing that a few small words could change somebodys life that day? What if we decided that instead of judging somebody over "how they make their bed" every day, we just loved them instead, and gently led them to Jesus by how we choose to treat them? We often are quick to judge because somebody does something differently than we do it. A lot of strife and anger is caused when we get so angry at people for not doing things the way we think is right or how we think it should be done. God did not create us all the same for a reason.

"If you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way". ! Peter 3: 15

Although its easy for me to love and serve my Pop, its not always easy to love and serve everybody!

Lord, teach me to love ALL of your creation with the Love the bible teaches about, not just the people who are easy to love. Help me to see people through your eyes and not my own. Help me to gently show your love to others by my reactions and words!