Not Jesus...but a Mixer

{photo source}

Two weeks ago, a snippet in a sermon got to me that boils down to this: if I know what Jesus has done for me, what on earth is keeping me from sharing it?

And during the sermon, I kept thinking of my conversational English partner; we'll call her P.  P is from India, here with her husband as he does post-doc work, and raising their first baby.  Their daughter is beautiful--a one-year old with a full head of thick, dark hair and a sweet, shy smile.

Pookie and I head over there every week to help P practice her English just by talking about life and babies and food mostly.  We prayed together once when she had to go back to India for a season unexpectedly, but otherwise I've been pretty quiet about Jesus...beyond mentioning Bible study or what we did at church.

After hearing that sermon, I had a whole little speech mapped out.  It wasn't pushy, it wasn't loud, but it was heartfelt and sincere.  I prayed and prayed as I prepared a few utensils and extra ingredients to take to P's house to teach her to make carrot cake.

I waited and waited for the right moment to give my spiel, but it wasn't coming the way I had expected; the conversation never fell where I wanted.  And then when it got close...I knew that speaking out in just that way would have been forced.

I didn't feel the Spirit lead, so I stayed quiet.  And this quote from Jamie the Very Worst Missionary came to mind:

If there is one thing I’ve learned about loving people in the last five years, it’s that nobody wants to be featured as a prayer point in your newsletter. Nobody wants your unsolicited, but loving Christian counsel. Nobody wants your corny Bible tract.

Indeed, nobody wants to be your pet-project for Jesus.

And as I stood in P's tiny student-apartment kitchen, measuring carrots and laughing at our daughters' antics, I knew that it wasn't the day to speak; it was a day just to love.

I left my hand mixer with P, promising that I had one at home and this was just an extra, so please keep it.

I left knowing that P is my friend, and I love her and her family.

I left knowing that I need to be ready to share about Jesus naturally--not because I've prepared a speech but because I really have no greater joy than in Him.

And I left a friend feeling my love...and that's a good step.