Thankful for God's people

One thing that has been made clear to me through my trial with MS is how amazing fellow believers in Christ really are. I have had so many emails, cards, and words of encouragement over the past five months that it's been overwhelming.

I have been amazed at the love the body of Christ has poured out, and it's not just from my tight circle of friends and family. Love has come from people whom I have never met, people I have known for years, and from people I never thought cared that much for me.

"A friend is always loyal, and brother is born to help in time of need." (Proverbs 17:17 NLT)

In fact, it has been through this trial that I have seen who my true friends are. Much to my surprise, many of the people who have been the first to help, have been people that I would never have expected It has been through the body of Christ that I have been blessed with prayers, words of encouragement, letters, emails, and meals for my family.

The Body of Christ has been with our family every step of the way. They are loyal. They will be ready to help and serve whenever called upon. They are ready because they are filled with the Spirit of God. They want to serve like Jesus did. They want to be a true friend.

I could write for hours about some of the offers I have gotten from believers. But one sticks out to me in particular, I guess since I am a worker at home and all things under this roof pertain to me. A lady from my church offered to hire a housekeeper for me, and to pay for it! She said that she wanted to bless me in this way because she knew how much I appreciated a clean house. She told me that she didn't want me to waste any of my energy on cleaning, but to use it all on my children.

I was so shocked by this offer. I was amazed. Yes, I know this woman, but we are not close. Not close enough for her to pay for my house to be cleaned!

This was just another example of God's love being shown through His body. And for the record, I haven't taken her up on the offer. I really have wanted things to remain as normal as possible, but I told her that if I ever needed it I would give her a call.

These are the kinds of people who are shining their light. These are the people who love the Lord and are willing to sacrifice to help another believer. These are the people who make the gospel attractive. These are the people who will be blessed beyond measure during their time on earth and when they get to heaven. These are the kinds of people I want to have as my friends!

I can't help but think of 1 Corinthians 12 when Paul is talking about how there are many parts that make up the body, but we are all one in Christ. Each part has its purpose, but this doesn't make it better than another part. All parts are needed to make up the body.

I am so thankful for all the people God has brought into my life during this time. He knew what sort of people would be my real friends and who would be the most encouraging, and those are the exact people He has brought into my life!

In fact, I need to go now so I can heat up a meal that was brought to me this morning:-)