By Rosemary B. Althoff
with daisies.
I’ve just returned from an Alaskan cruise with ALL my family, eleven people. I had a few talks with fellow passengers that I didn’t know before, especially the staff, but most of my talking was done with family.
God wasn’t forced into any conversation, just uplifting talk with my husband and grown kids (I include their spouses as “my kids”) and my granddaughters. But here’s a quote by friend Nancy Gill that I want to share:
“The key to reaching people is having a healthy love.”
A healthy love may lead you to talk openly about Jesus, but that can never be forced. I did have one wonderful God-talk with an unchurched family member that opened up like blue sky on a cloudy day, the last day at sea.
One young family member had a no good, very bad dream the last day’s night. She dreamed that she lost her ID, and was going to be hopelessly held up at the airport trying to get home. The dream reflected a very deep anxiety.
It wasn’t going to be any use to insist like a prophet that everything was going to be just fine—that kind of insistence is a “false optimism” that I have no power to enable. But I do know one Helper who does have the power to help—Jesus!
I told my much-loved young one that her “Higher Power” was with her and he loves her. “No matter what happens, He’ll always make it come out for good!” (Romans 8:28) I could see the peace settle upon her. Soon we were joking together about the “2230 loads of dirty laundry” (an exaggeration) that she had do upon her arrival at home.
My heart glows because of the wonder-full cruise with my family. And it also glows with the love that we gave and received, especially one little word of “Healthy Love” that God let me share.
Rosemary B. Althoff, Author & Speaker
Https://rosemaryalthoff.com
Leave a Reply