The Best Way To Leave
Anna always leaves me in a better place than before I met her.
Reference: The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?” (Genesis 30:30 NIV)
Explore: I love my friend Anna. She is funny, compassionate and generous.
With my busy family life, we don’t get to catch up as much as I would like. But every time we do plan to see each other I know it’s going to be good.
You see, Anna always leaves me in a better place than before I met her. And that’s an incredibly valuable gift.
There are times when I need a good laugh. Anna is never short of a humorous tale – usually at her own expense.
She is one of the few people who can make me cry with laughter.
But there are also times when I need to vent. Anna always lends a listening ear when I need it. She never judges or tries to solve my issues, she just listens and sympathises.
There are many more great characteristics I could tell you about Anna, and I am so fortunate to have her as my friend. My life is better because she is in it.
Application: We all have the ability to make someone’s world better or worse. What a change we would make in this world if we were more like Anna and left people in a better place than we found them in.
Jacob was a great example of this with his father-in-law, Laban. He worked hard, increased his wealth and added to his family. Laban knew he had a good thing going with Jacob.
We may not be able to increase people’s wealth, but we can certainly add to people’s emotional bank. Let us be conscientious in leaving people in a better place than where we found them.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for the great people we have in our lives. May we never take them for granted. And may we work diligently to build people up in such a way that they are better from having known us. Amen.
Who do you know who makes life better for those around them?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.