Cut and dry

3:26 p.m. Today's project was to hire a young man to mow and trim our lawns while I spent time with a sweet friend helping her to experience personalized skincare and find her perfect lipstick shade. God has given us widely varied talents, hasn't He?

The lawnmower that has been serving us well the past year has hit a glitch in the grass, so to speak. Steve is working on repairing it with the help of the caretaker who spends Fridays with him. Praise the Lord, the gentleman had the spare part we needed! Makes me think of Proverbs 27:10, "Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far off." Steve's side of the family is in Orange County, and while our grown daughters are here in Riverside, neither one of them is mechanically inclined!

This beautiful lawn work came at a perfect time for another reason: Steve's back had a spasm this morning. So that's one less outside chore to be stressed over. I did the gardening today--watering, re-routing the irrigation canals, and picking greens for lunch--so he can rest and get better. We'll be on the go with teenage grandsons Adrian and Xavier, so we'll need all of our energy this weekend. We can attest that "Children's children are the crown of old men (and women)," Proverbs 17:6, but they do put us through our paces!

Recalling the challenge I heard a few weeks ago at Sandals as well as at our own church to invite someone to an Easter service, I made sure to ask our lawncare helper about his plans for Easter Sunday. Praise the Lord, he answered that he is going to church and then the family is headed to Orange County. (My intention had been to ask him to our service at Calvary Moreno Valley if he had no plans). Next week I'll be handing out more Easter invitation cards from church and verbally inviting folks as the Lord leads. Since God's word does not come back void (Isaiah 55:11) I have faith that those cards and my words will have a lasting impact on the receivers, whether or not I witness their receiving Christ as their Savior, or recommitting their lives to Him. I'll sure know about it in heaven!

It's God's job through His Holy Spirit to reach into a person's soul and show them their need for salvation. It's my job to be faithful, tell what I know and have seen, and pray for those I share Christ with. And while I will be anxious for them to be born again, I won't worry about not being there to see it happen. I Corinthians 13:12 (NLT) draws a beautiful distinction between what we see with our own eyes here on earth in this life, and what will be revealed to us in eternity:

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Much as I would like to see friends, acquaintances and loved ones saved, "cut and dry" so I can be at ease as to their eternal fate, God's timing is impeccable in leading them to choose Jesus--to chose life!

Meanwhile, our grandsons are coming to visit us tomorrow through Tuesday, and we'll host our traditonal Easter dinner a week from Sunday. It's not like our family will turn away in disgust from overgrown lawns, but if we have the means to make our property nice, that's what we've done over the last 23 years.