About that time we received an invitation from our church in Arlington to come back to Texas for the weekend to have a reunion. Our pastor’s wife, Bonnie, had ovarian cancer and they did not know how long she would have. She wanted to see everyone. The invitation went on to say that we were to be prepared to share what we are learning or where we are in our journey with the Lord.
I had a dream that night that I was asking Bonnie what I should share since she knew me and I considered her my mentor. She said James 2:5 and 5:2. I didn’t know what those scriptures were but looked them up. James 2:5: “Listen, my dear brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love him?” And 5:2: “Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.” What? I hope that is for someone else! We had no intention of becoming poor or meek and yet we were going through our money waiting to see what God was doing here. We were out of work other than hosting a group and volunteering in church for 18 months.
I pondered the truths in Matt. 5 after reading the Beatitudes that the meek inherit the world. I looked in my footnotes and found that poor in spirit did not necessarily mean penniless but meek and humble like Moses. I discovered Jesus actually focused his ministry on the dependent, weak and foolish, afflicted, those who had no power to save themselves, the nobodies.
Next I studied the 5:2 passage. I paired it with Matt. 6:19-21. This scripture spoke of not storing up things on earth where moths and rust can destroy but storing up treasure in heaven because wherever your treasure is, that is where your heart will be. God was looking at the heart. It didn’t mean you couldn’t have money and be a good steward and a channel to share with others. But this particular passage focused on the rich who were exploiting the poor, climbing the ladder, stepping on heads, cheating wages, living in luxury and fattening themselves without sharing in the last days.
What are we to acquire now I asked? Wisdom and understanding are more profitable than silver or gold. (Prov. 3:14) True riches are mercy, compassion, standing in the shoes of others, truth, fear of the Lord, harmony and love to our brothers and sisters.
We were dealing with our failed expectations. We could no longer anesthetize ourselves as our money dwindled. We had lost our reputation and had to face our issues. However, our hearts were changed and humbled. God was breaking our self-reliance.
My husband wanted to return to Texas and was looking for a sign. I dreamed of a mockingbird trapped in a room. He was trying to get out though he kept hitting the walls and was confined. My husband took that as a sign since the mockingbird is the Texas state bird. “We’re going back to Texas,” he announced joyfully. Our family was there, friends, a way to make a living again. If we had studied that dream more closely, we might have interpreted it this way: if we go back to Texas we are going to be mocked and try to get free but be confined hitting the walls. Unfortunately, that interpretation proved prophetic. When we returned, Alan lost his father and his mom needed help. We moved in temporarily for the summer until we could find a home. Right after we moved in, Ida had a knee replacement and broke her neck. We nursed her and kept up her house and ended up staying 7 years! We never felt a release to leave. We were definitely mocked and confined. But do you know what was important to God? He wanted to set our family right, restore a relationship between and son and mother, heal my mother-in-law to wholeness, close some masonry doors from ancestors in the past. The eternal was important to Him and to turn the whole generation around and prepare for eternity.
Not until we returned to Texas did we notice all the people who had the same bondage we formerly had of acquiring things and avoiding their issues. I met a girl in the gym working out one day who was a Christian. She openly admitted she was a bit of a shopoholic. She loved to buy clothes but she said that when her focus and priorities were askew, God was dealing with her by sending a moth that would buzz around and land on her clothes. She was unable to swat it and it was a real nuisance. To tell the truth that seemed like a wild story to me. The next day, however, I saw her again at the gym and sure enough, the moth was landing on her. I looked up moth in the dictionary and not only does it eat clothes but it is attracted to artificial light. interesting..When I got right next to her, it would not alight on me. Perhaps I had been delivered from that material mindset after our experience in Kansas City. 
Amy shared that her sons were about to go to Christian camp for a week. She admitted to them the story about the moth and they told her when they returned from the camp that the leader’s lesson was taken from Matt. 6:19-21 (Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy). The leader concluded the lesson stating the fact that sometimes we see others that have more than us and we think the grass looks greener. Nonetheless, he said, it is not real or lasting, it’s fake like astroturf.
When the boys returned from camp, Amy told them that they were going to get to take a trip to a New Jersey ranch to visit their cousins, her sister, and husband. They were wealthy. She wanted to prepare the boys not to be jealous and to remember the kingdom lessons they were learning. Amy’s sister ordered something that was delivered almost daily by the UPS truck to her kids. One day it was new cellphones, the next day the latest x-box and other toys. Amy’s youngest son was pacing in his room with his hand to his head talking aloud to himself, “It’s not real, not lasting, astroturf, astroturf, astroturf…” Funny as that is we seriously need to change our mindsets and seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added also.
May I pray for you?
Dear Lord, Show us your kingdom and rebuild us in Your image. Just like the men on Emmaus Road help our eyes to be opened to recognize Jesus and help us to surrender to His rule and reign in our lives. In Jesus name, Amen.
Leave a Reply