S.A.F.E.

In this life, it is so vital to reach out and share with others–to show thyself friendly.  Being an introvert, it is a lesson that has taken me a long time to learn.

Growth in our lives and faith can occur more rapidly as we make time to share the Lord working in our lives, specific needs we have, the simple everyday ups and downs, and just as important, our struggles.

I happened to see this acrostic and thoughts recently on a Facebook post (thanks to David Stine #dsministries) and thought it fit in perfectly with these thoughts.

God never intended us to do life alone.

Encircle yourself with S.A.F.E. people…

you know, those people you can trust to:

 

Support you

Accountable-hold you

Fun Times (Yes, bring on fun times!)

Encourage you when you need it most

 

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Do you and your family have any special traditions that are a part of your life?  It would be a blessing if you would share in the comments below.

Ever since my eldest child started kindergarten, it has been my tradition to take the first week of school starting off from work.  With Monday always being Labor Day, Tuesday of that week, I would plan a special day with the child/children who was starting school.  It was like one more special day of one-on-one time with them.  Through the years, we’ve done things like go to the zoo, waterfalls, hiking, bowling, out for lunch..some kind of special activity like that.

Sending a child off to school is always traumatic or a bit nostalgic for me. So, I would always try to surround myself with others to support me and who were going through the same thing. Kind of like the Support and Encourage you (from above) when you need it most.  😃

Yes, together is better. There has been one friend and I who have pretty much gotten together faithfully for all those first days of school through the years.  It is our special tradition.

As our children have gotten older, we do not keep in touch as much through the year except for the first day of school and tax time.  Our husbands work for the same company, and we have special tax items that require much work and discussion as to how to handle the things.  So we compare notes and tax programs.  Another tradition has been to get together for lunch after April 15th comes every year to celebrate the taxes in the mail!

It is always good to catch up on things in each other’s lives during our semi annual gatherings.

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This year I was blessed to keep my tradition of taking the first week of school off from work.  At this point, I only have one child left in high school but my son and I carried on our tradition of hanging out together on the last official day of summer vacation. He had an appt first, then he got to visit and bless my mom by playing some card games with her, while I cleaned and did her laundry.

Going to the Chinese buffet is one of his favorite places to eat so we did that, followed by some bowling.  I am not sure he will want to do that again, as somehow I managed to win two of the three games we played with my 8 lb bowling ball! I do not think that has ever happened before! It must be that new exercise routine that I have been doing! Yes, I am pretty proud of my 118 on the one game, but my son did have the bragging rights of the highest score–a 120!

The rest of the week with school back in session seemed appropriate to take time to “show thyself friendly” to S.A.F.E. with others.

I ended up meeting two friends for coffee, two friends for breakfast/lunch, and took a road trip to see my youngest child’s preschool teacher, who I also assisted in her class a few years ago.  It ends up that two of the people I have more routine contact with; the other three not so much.

One friend that I visited that week was one I met in a Stephen Ministry Training class. I was always drawn to her gentle, soft spoken, wise demeanor so it was nice that we decided to stay in contact via email once the training ended.  We go to different churches so would not see each other otherwise.  After corresponding by email for awhile, we finally decided to get together for breakfast before the summer began. So this was our second time.  It was great to make time to reach out, share and learn more about each other’s lives.  A great S.A.F.E. time.

The road trip person I was going to wait until Oct to go see so I could enjoy the fall foliage more, but I thought, no don’t wait.  Just see if she was free.  Sure enough she was! Much to my surprise, she was so excited to hear from me and said she had been wanting to check in with me but just hadn’t made the time to do so. She really felt it was the Lord bringing us together!

We both had a blessed time catching up and reminiscing.  Two and a half hours flew by and she prepared a wonderful lunch for us to share. We got caught up on happenings with our families, talked about the Lord working in our lives, and prayed together.

Each of my interactions that week were great blessings to me personally. I am always blessed when I make time to share with others.

I encourage you to remember to take time to be a S.A.F.E. person for others and to be blessed by them doing that for you. Share the Lord’s goodness with others and be His hands, feet, and ears. Show His love to all.  Show thyself friendly!

Please feel free to share any traditions you or your family have in the comment section below.  You just might inspire someone else to start a new tradition in their family!

For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.  –Romans 14:7  (NIV)

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  –Hebrews 10:24-25  (NIV)