The Invisible Woman

(www.ambassadorsforJesus5.com)

Matthew 22:37-40

     Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

     Have you ever felt like you were invisible?  I have and today was a prime example.  Now let me first say that I understand people have their priorities and other issues at various times and I may not always be in the mix.  I get that.  I'm just saying, I felt quite invisible. 

     Like sometimes I will get repeated requests to do something for another and not even a "how are you?" to go with it.  You can feel like a piece of equipment.  Ok, so you know how I feel about open-ended questions when we are in a depleted state but I mean how about some communication?  Somehow now my big time sacrifice in my depleted state the other day seems quite heroic to me (see "Earthen Vessel" entry in "A Cup of Laughter" section).  But yes, I still feel I should have avoided the open-ended question because I WAS very depleted that morning.

     So I was reminded of a dvd I picked up at a thrift store the other day.  I found it very good, even if I may not have seen eye to eye on everything with the narrator.  But she was witty and adorable, along with making some very good points.  It had an excerpt entitled, "The Invisible Woman".  She went on about how she does all these things for her husband and children and how they don't even notice her.  Like how do they think their clothes and home got cleaned and did the dinner fairy just come and drop their dinner on the table?  She felt invisible.  Then she ends with a beautiful story about the ancient cathedrals and an account on how they were built.  Some took years to build, like a hundred years.  Many people worked on them but their names don't appear anywhere on the work and some didn't even live to see it completed. 

     Imagine that, a hundred years.  Must be some sight. 

     And so she starts to close by telling us how God sees what we are doing and such...can't quite remember it all but basically the impression I got is how we need to look to Him for our fulfillment there.  And then the narrator says, "Let us pray..." and goes into this prayer that went something like this, "Lord, make us invisible so that only you show forth."  Now how wonderful and noble that sounds and so my first instinct was to join in that prayer, but I gotta admit, it didn't feel all right to me so I found myself stopping through it and questioning the validity of it all.  I also asked myself (yes, I talk to myself and so do you) now why is this prayer a problem for me?  Am I just selfish?  What is the big problem I have with being invisible?  I did inquire of the Lord too.  I mean I want to know the truth even if it isn't always pretty.

     Well, no matter how painful my invisibility was today (did the boo hoo thing and cried me a river) I am very glad and grateful it happened.  I want to tell that lady, "Lady, I get your drift but you need to tell that ungrateful husband of yours and those spoiled kids that you are a person sacrificing much for them and they need to see you."  I mean for real, you are not invisible and neither should you be.

     But in reality, I don't know where their hearts are at so it really is not fair of me to use terms like ungrateful and spoiled.  They may just be ignorant of her needs.

     Ok, now any of you that know me know that I do not like to tell people what to do in regards to such issues.  The Holy Spirit is our Leader and He can be trusted to lead us well.  We need to go with how He is leading us.  Maybe He is telling her to be invisible, then she needs to flow with it.  I'm just saying that instead of discarding what may be an important piece, I like to see how it may fit into the overall picture of Jesus and then tell them to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit (and He will always lead by way of Jesus).  So let us look at this "invisible woman" concept. 

     The bible is very clear in its portrayal about the function

of the body of Jesus of which we believers are all a part of.  We are told to love each other.  To give water to the thirsty, visit prisoners, show gratitude, take care of those that minister to us by contributing to their needs... 

     What do we think Jesus is doing? 

     Sure He does need to be our main Source so a big "AMEN" to that.  I love to sing that tune too because it is true.  We are just extensions of Him, not the Source, but extensions we are.  Express the love He has deposited in you and show gratitude.  People are more than just a piece of equipment at your beck and call.  I mean when I read what Paul wrote the guy sounded quite needy to me.  He would say stuff like, "Won't you let us in, we love you.  Why are you holding back your love now?"  

     Well Paul, didn't anyone tell you?  You're invisible so stop being so whiney, tough it out and get over it.   

     Do we really buy that?  I don't believe that is the picture we are given in the Word of God.  It is one thing to take the credit and glory that belongs to our Lord and a whole other thing to understand how his body functions.  Sounds like a good fit to me.  But hey, don't just take my word for it because I don't claim to have it all right.  Search for yourself.  

     And how did things end with me?  Well I guess it ended here, but before that I did the "cry me a river" thing in my bed and spoke with our sweet Lord Jesus.  I told Him how beautiful He was as I imagined Him on that cross being rejected and tortured by those He loved so.  I am honored to enter into his sufferings and the sufferings of his body.  Not that I'm exempt from dealing my share of unnecessary hurts, but we can continue to grow in his love.

     So don't grow hard and bitter.  Take your hurts to the Lord and let Him make something beautiful out of it.  It is truly a trap and a snare to look at human relationships first.  We of ourselves will fail each other for we are not the Source and our needs are so diverse.  Just don't use that as an excuse.  We do also have a responsibility to our fellowman so express the love and spread the gratitude.  

     And may it start with me.    

     Furthermore, take time to check out the second-hand items being sold to you.  Don't look to just blindly buy into it at heart.  If something doesn't feel right, even here, take it to the Lord and let his Spirit reveal the truth to you.   

James 2:14-17

     What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.