So it was Monday night, and that means our friend Allan came over to eat with us. Allan's been a fixture at New Hope for many years now, but his main job is roving ambassador for all of Valparaiso. I was getting reports on his whereabouts during the afternoon from Frank Weech, who saw Allan a mile away from the church, greeting some campaign workers as they waved at traffic coming through the busy intersection near our Dollar General store. Allan loves to wave at traffic so I'm sure they appreciated his help.

On the way home, we saw him walking toward the church and we picked him up in the Honda to give him a ride to our home. The very first thing he did was apologize to both of us for being late. I don't know who put the idea in Allan's head that being late was such a crime, but I'd like to. Grrr... Allan is so apologetic it makes us sad. So we headed home, turned down our street and Allan reaches for the remote to the garage door.

He LOVES opening the door.

And the crazy thing is that he's better at getting it to work on the first try than anyone else is. Allan will push the button and it immediately starts up. Then he said "I did it Bunny. I did it David." And after we tell him, "yes Allan you did it, you're the best", Allan grins from ear to ear and says "I so happy."

Monday night he said it several times. "I so happy Bunny. I so happy."

Because of his hearing and other challenges, Allan can be a handful. He doesn't "herd" well and tends to do what Allan wants to do, even when it makes preparing supper more difficult for Bunny. He's just so special though that every week we do everything we can just so we can see that smile and hear...

"I so happy."

God uses Allan in our lives. We thank God for him.

Dealing with Allan has a way of  making us step back and look at what we are doing in relating to him in love and whether it's in line with who we claim to be- followers of Jesus. And when we aren't in line with that, we adjust - we change - because it's not about us - it's about Allan.

We just want to see him smile and maybe get to hear "I so happy."

Makes me wonder as I write this...

What if all of us went into each day determined to do whatever it took to make God smile?

What if we overcame the frustrations, and stayed focused on pleasing Jesus?

What if we immediately took action to change when the Holy Spirit showed us areas where we are falling short of what we are called to be?

Wouldn't it be worth it all to stand before Jesus and hear Him say he was so happy with what we did with the life He gave us?

Grace and peace,

David
Visit with me at my blog:
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/

Visit with Bunny at her blog:
http://henleythegreatdane.blogspot.com/

Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/