Will You be Inconvenienced For Me?

I would like to tell you about Beverly.  She is a 92 year, young woman I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the past few days.   Beverly needed to have two teeth extracted.   The oral surgeon was over an hour away, with all highway driving. My mom and I said we would take her over to the surgeon and take the pressure of her driving -alone, at 92-  off of her.
    I met her, and my mom, early Monday morning and we set out on our excursion to the dentist.  We came to find out that this was only a consult and we would have to return again. In addition:
*She would be going under general anesthesia and would need to be cared for after her procedure, for 4-6 hours.
*She would need prescriptions filled.
*She wouldnt be able to walk and would need a wheelchair and assistance once we got her home.

We signed on the dotted line and promised to be back the next day for the procedure.  On my way to a PRAYER MEETING that night - I was lamenting , in my mind, about how BIG this errand had turned out to be and how much of my time it would take.  Yes, on my way to a prayer meeting - that I was asking the Holy Spirit to join us in, to already be there, to bless us with His presence....as I lamented over loving one of His widows.

Have you ever had one of those "Wake up" moments where you come up short on the mercy and grace scale?  Yeah, me too.  As I was busy asking for the Holy Spirit to bless us - He interrupted my thoughts-----He interrupted my patterns - He interrupted my plans, with one question: "Will you be inconvenienced for me?"
My breath caught and I felt so little and selfish. "Oh, YES, Lord.  I am sorry.  I will do whatever you call me to do with a smile, with love and with mercy and grace."   The Holy Spirit blessed our socks off that night in that prayer meeting.  I think I had to make more room for Him, by dying to my schedule and my calendar, and to what I thought was important.

So, that got me thinking - when was the last time you were inconvenienced by your faith?  Have you been called into unstable waters?  Has He called you into uncomfortable places?  Has He set a heart of mercy on you over His homeless orphans, and widows?   I hope so.  I hope that the next time He calls me to be inconvenienced I spring into love and to love well.

As an epilogue to Beverly's story -we did get those teeth out yesterday, and it took longer than we expected.
And I smiled.
She wanted an Orange Julius on the way home.
I got her a medium, with extra ice so she could eat it with a spoon.
She needed her prescriptions filled.
We waited the half and hour until we got her - just what she needed- to walk in health.
She asked for a dozen eggs.
............................................And a dozen Kripsy Kreme donuts.
I got her both, with a smile and a hug.
We got her into her apartment.
She needed to take her antibiotic.
She had to use the bathroom.
I got to listen to the stories of her boys and see the pictures of her life.
I got to hug Beverly.

In all honesty - the Holy Spirit had to keep reminding me that I promised to be inconvenienced by Him.  The eggs?  The donuts? I think a gentle reminder that our God loves extravagantly and if we are going to be His hands and feet- we need to make time for Him to work through us. The past few days have been a valuable lesson for me - that, in order to be inconvenienced for Him, we have to lay aside every plan we had- and release into His plan.  I pray Beverly felt the love of the Father yesterday as He showered her with His attention.

So - Will you be inconvenienced for Him?  I hope so.