Mrs Charissa Andrews
Pastor's Wife
Amazing Grace Baptist Church
O'Fallon, MO
Lady Bugs
My family and I lived in West Virginia for several years and each fall we would be visited with swarms of lady bugs. One year in particular I remember the lady bugs came in droves. I would attempt to vacuum them up but they would let off this unpleasant odor when they were met with their fate. That was several years ago when I was a mommy to a 2 year old and two 1 year olds, we were in the process of moving across the country and my days were given to try to pack our home in boxes while my husband was at work. One morning I placed the 1 year olds in their little exersaucers and gave the 2 year old a box of his own so that he could “help me” in this endeavor. I went into the kitchen to begin my task. I wasn't working long before I heard, “eat the buggy, Daniel. They taste good!” I came to find that my oldest son was feeding the lady bugs to his brother. It wasn't so funny then, but it is a story we laugh about now.
Although those lady bugs were a nuisance, I believe there is a wonderful kind of lady bug. A lady B(eing) U(sed by) G(od). The longer I serve the Lord, the more I desire my life to be used by God. I want to use the letters in LADY BUG to look at 7 areas that will keep us usable.
I. L – Looks to the Lord for strength and emotional dependency.
Picture in your mind a storm that is raging on the open sea. It is dark as the storm rages on. The waves are crashing noisily. There on the rocks stands a light house. Even though the wind is howling and the water is violently slamming into the rocks, the light house is not wavering, it is not wilting. The light is still being sent out. No one is there cheering on the light house, no one is admiring it or praising it. The circumstances around the light house are dire – yet it stays strong. That doesn't happen by accident. The reason that the light house can stand strong during the worst storms is because it is grounded firmly on solid rocks. Sometimes we fall into the trap of trying to gain our strength from places other than the Lord. Perhaps our spouse, our children, a job, our girlfriends. God can certainly use our human relationships to bring us comfort and encouragement. However, if we are not careful we can place our roots, so to speak, in those earthly relationships. A L.A.D.Y. B.U.G understands that she must look to the Lord for her strength.
2. A – Adorned with an inner beauty.
I Peter 2:3-4 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. This verse does not mean that God is against a lady looking nice. It does not mean that God is against a lady wearing jewelry or of keeping her hair clean and neat. But what this verse is telling us is that our outward appearance should not be the MOST beautiful thing about us. There should be something (Someone) that adorns us that causes the jewelry and lip gloss and cute little shoes to pale in comparison. Our culture places an extreme emphasis on the exterior of a person. Just take a look at the magazines in the check out aisle of your local store. It is in our faces. All. The. Time. I wonder what would change in our homes and in our churches if we spent the same amount of investment (financially and time wise) on our inner (wo)man as we do the outer. An inner beauty is powerful and can't be bought in a tube, a cream, or a size 6 shoe. A L.A.D.Y.B.U.G is adorned, she is decorated with an inner beauty that is a by product found only by being filled with God's Spirit.
3. D – Desires to make her home a special place.
Proverbs 31:27a She looketh well to the ways of her household...
A L.A.D.Y.B.U.G views the care of her home as a high calling. As a wife and mom, I desire for my home to be a safe place, a haven, an oases for my family. We can use our 5 senses to establish a home that will be welcoming. The following are some things that we do in our home.
Eyes (sight): Try to keep your home neat and clean. My boys hear me say often, “a place for everything and everything in it's place”. In our home it helps me to have a daily schedule. Everyone has an area they are responsible for. Make the upkeep of your home fun, offer rewards and incentives. Take time to decorate for the different holidays and seasons.
Ears (sound): Play Christ honoring music. We listen to several Christian radio stations easily with our phones. Sometimes just having the Bible playing creates a calmer atmosphere. Let your children HEAR you praise and brag on them to other people. Same thing with your spouse. Laugh. A lot. Let the sounds of your home be pleasant.
Nose (smell): Now I have to be candid. This is not always an easy one for me. I do live in a house with 5 guys. Last night, I set my oven on fire. Not. Even. Kidding. Some days I have to work extra hard to keep our home smelling inviting. I remember when we were house hunting. We had been looking for a few weeks and nothing just grabbed at us and said, “this is it...this is home”. Until we walked into our current house. There was much I loved about the house but looking back I think there was one thing that really made a difference. In the kitchen on the counter was a crock pot. Inside the crock pot a roast was cooking and it smelled. So. Good! It made us feel like we were home. Use candles, fresh flowers, the yummy smelling fabric softener when you can.
Tongue (taste): Learn your family's favorite tastes. Ask them. Try new things. Take the time to learn how to make new things. Make special treats to show those in your home that you love and care for them. I have one friend that allows each family member to pick a meal for that week. Every week when I go grocery shopping, one of my guys gets to pick our family treat for the week. It might be ice cream, soft pretzels, brownies, etc. A L.A.D.Y.B.U.G. Realizes that when she is cooking for her family, she is ministering. She is meeting a need. Don't do it grudgingly, take joy in it.
Touch: Hug often! Hold hands with your children and husband. Offer foot and back rubs. Set out soft blankets and fluffy pillows. At this time of year my husband does something that makes me feel very loved. When I go into my bathroom to get ready for bed, he will go into our room and turn on my heating pad. He will turn down the covers and stick the heating pad right where I sleep and cover it up again. Then when I go to climb into bed, I remove the heating pad and curl up feeling nice and toasty warm. As it gets colder, when my boys are showering I'll sneak in and grab their towels. I'll throw them in the dryer for about 10 or 15 minutes and when I think they're just about to hop out I'll replace the towel. It's something small but I want them to FEEL that they are loved. A L.A.D.Y.B.U.G knows that her first priority next to God is her home. Make it a special place, an inviting place.
4. Y – Yields her tongue to Christ.
I Timothy 5:13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
Colossians 4:6 Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
A group of pastor's wives was asked this question: “What is one thing your ladies do that encourage you?” There were various answers but the one that I loved best was, “The one thing my ladies do that encourages me is that they are kind to each other”. YES! Somewhere along the line we bought into a lie that we have the right to say whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want and to whomever we want. I once heard a wise lady say, “Not everything you think, needs to be said, and if it DOES need to be said, it doesn't necessarily need to be said by you. A L.A.D.Y.B.U.G keeps her body under subjection and that includes her tongue.
5. B – Brings support and encouragement.
A L.A.D.Y.B.U.G looks for others to invest in. We will never encourage on accident. From the beginning of time God created women to be encouragers and supporters. I like to call them cheerladies. God has given me a few cheerladies in my life. And I try to find ladies that I can cheer along their paths as well. God has given us the ability to build up, to strengthen, support and encourage. God has put in ladies a natural desire to nurture and empathize. For several years we lived right in front of a large corn field. Without doubt, every harvest time we would get mice in our garage and sometimes they'd end up in the house. I hated them! I wanted them gone! So my husband bought these sticky traps. And sure enough the mice would get stuck right on them. When my husband pulled out the first of our captured creatures, I saw the little mouse and asked what he was going to do with it. He explained to me how he would end it's life. I suddenly became sad and felt empathy for the mouse. My husband laughed pretty hard. “Only a woman could be disgusted by a creature one day and then try to save it's life the next”. That came from a natural desire to empathize. Ladies, we deserve to treat and be treated with kindness from each other. A L.A.D.Y.B.U.G knows God has called her to a wonderful, rewarding role of support, encouragement and love. She knows it is a high calling and design of God.
6. U – Understands the joy of serving.
A L.A.D.Y.B.U.G realizes serving others is really leading others. She knows that she isn't “just raising kids”, she is rearing kings and queens that are fit for the Master's use. She wants to mirror Christ. Christ was a servant, He washed the feet of His followers. When you know God has put someone in your path that you could serve, instead of saying, “Well let me know if you need anything” try something like, “What can I do for you” or “How could I best be a blessing to you?”. A L.A.D.Y.B.U.G knows biblical leadership is servant leadership
7. G – Gains honor and favor.
Proverbs 31:28 and 31 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
Ladies, may we always strive to be A LADY Being Used by God.
