Look Out For the Interest of Others!

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:1

Over the weekend I got an SMS from my very special Friend, E. She wanted to bless me by bringing her domestic worker to help me in the house for a day! Isn’t that a true Friend?

We decided on Wednesday, just because it is the middle of the week. But God knew Wednesday would be the perfect timing.

I had been running way behind schedule the last two weeks. It all started when Andrew developed a fever 2 weeks ago. For days he had a fever and complained that his gums that were sore. We thought it was teeth and kept the fever under control with Viburcol and rubbed Traumeel S on the gums. But by the 5th day of fever his lips and whole mouth on the inside was covered with blisters! He was crying in discomfort and brushing his teeth was very painful, ending in bleeding gums. Getting medicine down was a nightmare and eating was almost impossible. By day 8 there was a turning point and he could start eating again. BUT, on the same day David developed a fever…

He followed exactly the same pattern. Fever for days, but on occasion he would sleep for the whole day. This was a good sign and I was convinced he would not get the blisters. But today, day 6 he also couldn’t eat anything! He is crying constantly in pain (and I think hunger) and getting the medicine down is a challenge!

Needless to say the house wasn’t exactly my priority over the last 2 weeks and floors and bathrooms fell by the wayside. With Heidi-Mari’s help, I just (added by Christo, I’m an opportunist!) managed to stay on top of the laundry.

We also received 14 boxes of Above Rubies magazines on Thursday and I desperately wanted to send it out, but I was months behind on my admin and needed a few hours in front of the computer before we could start putting Above Rubies in envelopes.

How could I take care of my sick, older baby (David is actually just my older baby), get the Above Rubies admin up to date (there are currently 500 readers in South Africa and I need to check every address card to make sure there are no address changes) and stay on top of my house, while suffering a few first trimester pregnancy symptoms?

Isn’t it amazing, the Lord already knew what I was going to face this week! My Friend’s lady walked into my house at 8h30 and started to clean my house win places I seldom have time to clean. Washing my windows and cleaning my oven, and as a bonus cleaning my bathrooms and washing the kitchen floor! She had the most delightful attitude and lightened up the house with her serving attitude. And me? While Daniel was asleep, CJ and Heidi showed David and the other little ones a video and I could work for 3 hours on the computer getting a head start on the Above Rubies address labels!

The Lord is so faithful! He is never caught by surprise, with the enemy’s attempts to harm us, our temptations or the testing of our faith. Thank you my friend for being obedient to Jesus’ call. Comforting me in my time of need with your act of love!! It surely was a sacrifice for you, to put my interests before yours. I do believe you had to do some extra chores this week that your lady usually does for you. May God bless you abundantly!!