Inspiration!

By: Cindy Pentecost

As I was doing my quiet time this week, I was drawn to share a memory of my mother with you. At the end of her 7 year battle with cancer, at the age of 48, my sisters and I gathered around her hospital bed.  She had a glow about her; she was beautiful, peaceful.  She had not spoken for several hours and then she quietly requested for us to sing together, “I come to the Garden Alone.”  She referred to us as her garden of roses.  And as we sang…she slipped away.   My mother, Emmogene, called us her roses.  She was a single mother caring for her 6 daughters.  She loved and cared for us and sacrificed more than I most likely will ever comprehend.  We were her life.  She knew us all so well and gave us the gift of knowing we could be anything.  She saw the potential in each of us and encouraged us to live life every day.  

Reflecting on this memory, I know that as God sees us, His eyes are not dulled by our failures, but rather His hope in us keeps burning deep within them, and it is His flame of love, reflecting in us that radiates His Glory!

I believe I am the woman I am today because of my mother and other amazing people who have had a huge influence in my life.  They are God’s gracious gifts to me.  When I looked at my mom that final day I did not see the sickness that had overtaken her body.  I was blinded to the illness because of my love for her.  I know that is how God sees us.  He sees the full potential and beauty He created within each of us.  

I believe these women were sent into my life like angels from above at perfectly appointed times to help me move to the next level of life and live it to its fullest potential.  I needed their encouragement.  Their belief in me built up my ability to move into the unknown journey God had next for me.  

We are all placed here to be that in another person’s life.  To instill hope and belief levels, to inspire and equip people in your life to see their full potential.  We can be the voice God uses to get their eyes off their weaknesses and insecurities.  We are invited to be the helping hand that reaches down and helps others out of the rut life has them stuck in.  

Every day as I watch groups of people I am struck by the fact that they each have a story.  Something is going on in their life.  I do my best to guard my heart and mind so I can listen to the guidance of God.  As he directs me to give a word of encouragement, pass on a smile, lend a helping hand.  I am convinced our everyday lives and definitely our businesses would be wonderfully, radically changed if we would but see others as God sees them and then be open enough to share with them how valuable and beautiful they really are.

Luke 10: 30-37 tells the story of a Samaritan man.  He was on the journey life had him traveling.  There were traditions and ways of living life in those days, but God had a unique path for this man’s life.  He came upon a man who had been robbed, beaten and stripped of his dignity.  While others had passed him by, he took the time and helped him.  He made personal sacrifices and made it his personal responsibility to help this man get back on his feet again.  

So as I began praying for each of our It Works! Family members, I asked the Lord to show you the people in your circle of influence.  The people you are in contact with day in and day out and to take a closer look.   How many of these people have been robbed of their livelihood?   How many have had their dignity taken away after years of working for someone or building a business?  How many are beaten down by life?  

These are the people God has given you to be a gift to.  Take your message of hope to them.  Begin filling them with the amazing things YOU see in them.  Be used in a mighty way to be the voice of truth.  They are valuable!  God has a specific special plan for them.  Help them begin believing in themselves again until they in turn can pass it on to others. 

We are blessed to be a blessing…pass one on.