Good Morning Girls Devotional Week 5

Well, here we are, more than 1/2 way through our study. This week we focus on our friendships. Our friends are more than just the people we hang out with or people we have known for a long time. Our friends can be more like the people we have chosen to be a part of our own families. They are just at home at our homes as we are at theirs. Oftentimes, our kids have all grown up together or have known each other for most of their lives. 

I have a best friend that I have known since high school. There were times in our lives when we didn't talk to each other, didn't see each other for years at a time. Yet, when we get together it's as if it was just yesterday. 

Today, we are reading from the book of Ecclesiastes on how two are better than one. 

Read: Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12: Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

S: Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10:  Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.

O: When there are two of you, isn't everything you do made a little easier? Isn't it comforting to know there's someone who has your back? Sometimes we just need a little help in life. We can't always go it alone. We weren't designed that way. God made Adam and Eve so that neither would be alone. And He had His reasons for this. He knew that life ahead would be bumpy. He knew that by having someone by our side would make the journey just a little easier. 

In my opinion we, as a whole in society, have become very self-centered and selfish. So many people think only about themselves and not anyone else. Everyone seems to be out for only themselves and the heck with everyone else. People just don't seem to do anything out of the kindness of their hearts anymore. What ever happened to altruism? Has that gone the way of the dinosaur? I seriously hope not.

In a way, I am that way too. I spent most of my life learning that the only person you can rely upon is yourself. I had been let down by so many people in my life. I had been left to fend for myself because no one else wanted to be bothered, or it was an imposition. And so many times people will do things for you with the expectation that you will "owe" them. How many times have I been told that this person did this or that for me so I "owe" them? Especially when I never asked them for anything. I HATE when people do things for me because I know eventually I'll get it thrown back in my face. That is such a bad attitude to have, too. That is one area I really need God to work on me with.

However, sometimes I'll hear a story on the news that will reaffirm my belief in people, in the human race. I feel like maybe all is not lost. That there are still people who will do things out of the kindness of their hearts without expecting anything in return.

If any of you have been watching the news or live in the areas where there has been so much snow, then you know how hard it's been to keep up with clearing all that snow. I have heard so many touching stories in the last week of people helping people so they can just get through the snow and maybe make life a little easier.

There was a gentleman who woke up to his whole driveway and sidewalk completely shoveled. He had no clue who did it. But he taped a piece of paper to his front door thanking whoever did it. 

There was a woman whose husband had been away on a business trip and left his car in the park and ride for the last week or so. She went there before his flight arrived and completely shoveled the snow off his car and left him some treats so he'd have something to munch on on the way back to his office. 

I saw one post on facebook from a lady who said her husband had taken his shovel and walked down to the main road to help shovel out anyone who might have been stuck. 

It's stories like that that really make me think that not everyone in this world is bad. There are still people who care. And that's the exact meaning of our reading for today. We don't need to go it alone. We don't need to always be looking out for number 1. Sometimes we can just stop and think of someone else. We can make a difference in someone's life just by doing something small. 

I have a challenge to you all: For one day, try to do something for someone else. Someone completely random. Even if it's something as little as a smile or just saying hello. Let me know how you did!

A: In this one case, I already am doing this in my own life. I work as a Medical Assistant. I always have my focus on others. I am a naturally kind person (and I'm not trying to pat myself on the back or anything like that). It's just the way I am. I have spent my life being the one ignored. The one taken for granted. So I know how it feels. I believe in treating others as we would want to be treated. My reward in my job is knowing that I've helped someone feel better. I've had patients call saying that they just like to talk to me. I've had patients say that I've made their day just because I'm so nice to them. And that truly is a wonderful feeling!

P: Lord, I pray that we all learn from Your example. Help us to be better people. Help us to know that it truly is the little things that can make a difference in this life. Let us be humble towards each other, to reach out in kindness. Help us to remember that our reward will not be here on earth but when we reach Your Kingdom. Amen.