Good afternoon, my friends near and far,

Here I am to write, and I thank you for joining me.  

I have shared that the Lord uses a variety of avenues to bring inspiration. It could come from almost anything, from the seemingly mundane (like pulling weeds and cleaning closets), the extraordinary (finding lost valuable items that we had given up on, or the incredible beauty of His creation), to the supernatural (powerful dreams and the Lord orchestrating events for us that are far above our abilities).

 I have also noted that I sometimes jot down a topic for a blog and then wait for the right time. This “Goody Two-Shoes” was in my notes on August 8^th. This past Sunday, our Pastor’s sermon inspired me to write about this particular topic that had long awaited its turn. Although some have waited for years. 😊

Our Pastor has spent several Sundays teaching on The Father’s House, which brought us to the story of the prodigal son. But this time we focused on the older son rather than the younger (you know, the one who really messed up). Have you heard the saying, “There are two sides to every story”? It is true, so it was very revealing to take a closer look at the older son, you know, the goody two-shoes guy. You can find this parable in Luke 15:11-32.

For those who may not be familiar with the term goody two-shoes, it is an idiom for someone who is excessively virtuous, well-behaved, and rule-following, often to the point of being smug or annoying to others. Prideful in their own goodness comes to my mind.

As we read the scriptures, our Pastor pointed out that both sons had everything they could ever want, but both were unhappy. They had a good father, but neither had an authentic relationship with him. One had a rebellious nature and went out into the world seeking happiness. But when he came to his senses, he humbled himself and only hoped that his father would allow him to serve in his house. But on the other hand, the older son, who had stayed with his father and didn’t stray, became self-righteous. He pointed out his virtues, good behavior, and rule-following lifestyle to his father. He wasn’t just being smug or annoying. In his self-righteousness, he became angry, jealous, and felt unappreciated, so much so that he couldn’t even rejoice when his younger brother returned to his father’s house.

Note: If you look back to January and February of 2024, I wrote a series of blogs about feeling unappreciated, how we get there, and how we get free from it. Again, I say it is very revealing when we take a closer look at the other side of the story. It is truly for our good, an examination for our transformation. My sister, Karen, sometimes refers to it as “heart surgery”. That’s a good one!

So, as I mention my sister’s name, Karen (the prodigal daughter in this case), and the goody two-shoes gal (in my case), I want to take a closer look at my story as the older sister and my heart surgery. I believe it reveals much-needed truth for many of us.

If you know me, or have read my first poem in Inspire Me, you know that there was a period of time in Karen and my life that “along the way our relationship grew apart”. As she went farther into the world chasing happiness, I tried to follow the rules, live well-behaved, and became a people pleaser. I became angry and frustrated with Karen’s behavior, and she grew weary of me trying to “fix” her. Who wouldn’t?

I tried even harder to be the example of how you follow the rules and be the “good” girl without recognizing my own lack of an authentic relationship with my Heavenly Father. I was operating on a “works” for salvation plan rather than the transforming power of being saved by Grace (God’s plan).

See how deceived we can become by comparing our virtues to someone who has obviously wallowed with the pigs? Through God’s eyes, I was wallowing with the pigs right along beside her. Isn’t that an interesting thought? In God’s eyes, no one’s sin is greater than another’s. Read James 2:10 to see… if we break one of the Laws of Moses, we are guilty of breaking them all. As Dr Phil would say, “How’s that working for you?” I can tell you that it was a disaster for me!

This leads right to the story of casting stones in John 8:1-11. The Pharisees and scribes were demanding that a woman caught in adultery be stoned according to the Law of Moses. As they made their demands, Jesus was writing on the ground. In Blue Skies, Butterflies,& Battlegrounds, I wrote the poem, “Casting Stones”. It and the narrative address how our view of ourselves can be amiss, and that only our Lord knows what’s in our hearts. I’ve wondered if Jesus was writing in the dirt all of the sins of the crowd demanding her stoning. He did say to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” He stooped down and wrote some more. Then they were convicted by their conscience and left one by one. After the accusers left, and it was only Jesus and the woman there, Jesus asked her where her accusers were. They acknowledged there was no one condemning her, and then freedom proceeded from Jesus’s mouth, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” That freedom does mean both a physical freedom by not being stoned and a spiritual freedom by not being condemned by Jesus. When He said, “Go and sin no more.” He did not mean she had to go and try her best to follow the rules and try to be perfect. He offered her both forgiveness and a chance to change her life through the transforming power of His mercy and grace.

This is he same transforming power that my sister and I both needed so desperately. He taught us how to have an authentic relationship with our Father for forgiveness and the life-changing, transforming power of His mercy and grace. Once you have it, you can extend it to others and restore relationships better than you ever imagined. If you don’t have it, you are wallowing with the pigs, no matter how good you try to be.

So, here is a little more of this transforming process…

It grieved my heart deeply that she and I had gotten to the point that we couldn’t even be in the same room together without arguing. As she went farther into the world, and I lived the Navy life, we had very little chance to be together. The separation during that time was a good thing. Who needs to be together to do more damage to the relationship? God had a lot of work to do in both our lives. Although it wasn’t apparent, God had never stopped working, He just had to deal with us differently.

I do not remember the year, but I do remember the event. As I was growing in the Word, the Lord was revealing to me that my salvation is about His grace, not my works. Along with that came the understanding that His Love for me was unconditional, not how well I performed. Then came the awareness of my need to extend that same kind of love to my sister. He was examining my heart for the transformation that was soon to have a profound effect on both of us.

As I remembered her birthday, the wonderful memories of her birth and childhood came to my mind.  I loved her deeply and wanted her back! So I picked up the phone that day, May 11^th, ???? not even sure exactly what I was going to say. I wasn’t even sure she would answer when she saw that it was me calling! The only thing I was sure of was that the time was right and the Holy Spirit would help me. Thank God, although she was very hesitant, she answered, and then I proceeded with my birthday words of blessings.

I went back to when I was 10 years old and how I was absolutely delighted to find that Mom was expecting a baby. I had hoped for a baby sister and got one! My words flowed from my heart, and I was able to express the love that I always had for her and so much more. The Holy Spirit truly is our helper. He even helped my sister receive every word I spoke. Most of all, I was able to tell her that I love her just the way she is, unconditionally! That phone call was our breakthrough. Those words had the power to set healing and restoration into motion. Proverbs 16:24 NKJV “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones”.

 In that same call, Karen began to cry and tell me of a time after one of our arguments, when she was sitting on her bed crying. She cried out to the Lord, “Why can’t Reba love me just the way I am?” The Lord had to show me why, and there I was calling her to answer her prayer. There we were… the prodigal and the goody two-shoes sisters basking, healing, and rejoicing in the Father’s unconditional love that I could now share.

Do you remember how the Father of the prodigal responded to his son when he returned home? He had compassion and ran to him, hugged him, and kissed him. As the son confessed his sin, the father placed the best robe on him, put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet. He had the fatted calf killed, cooked, and they ate and were merry, rejoicing over the son that was alive again! He didn’t hold back and was filled with joy.

Now the scripture doesn’t go further for us to know if the older brother’s heart was ever changed. But praise God, I’m here to tell you as the older sister, mine was!

It is so sad that some will never look at both sides of the story and receive all that the Father has for them also. If this is you, I can tell you that there is nothing better in this life than to get into God’s Word, submit to the Holy Spirit, and let the Great Surgeon Jehovah Rapha do some heart surgery on you. It is life with an authentic relationship with the Father. It does not get better than that because He holds back nothing good.

No wonder the first poem He gave me was for Karen on her birthday in 2016.Expressions of His Endearing Love (My sister, her poem, both sent from God above)

“I praise God I am a part of my sister’s story

And together forever, we will sing of His glory.”

Although this story is of a torn relationship between two sisters, these principles apply to all of our relationships. He’s not holding back good from us if only we will see both sides of the story and let Him examine our hearts. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even unto the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”. There is that surgeon’s scalpel for the much-needed heart surgery.

Dear God, I can never thank  You enough!

And dear friends, I pray this has searched your heart as it has mine.

Reba

P.S. Keep in mind, I have other siblings as well. I have never loved them any less, but our bond is different. And I can thank God for “different”, not “less”.