Tabitha

Steve and I follow the daily lectionary guide for our morning prayer. This morning, we were led to Acts 9:32-43. It's an obscure little account of Peter visiting the believers in Lydda and while there he heals a paralyzed man and raises a woman named Tabitha from the dead. Here is the phrase that stood out to me. Speaking of Tabitha, the Living Word says,

"She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor."

While her friends (widows) were mourning her death, they were showing Peter all the coats and clothes she had made for them. Peter clears the room and tells Tabitha to get up.

Think about Tabitha with me. Think small. She was always doing kind things. Not big things, not amazing things, not newsworthy things, kind things. And she was always helping the poor.

I wonder...did Tabitha have to be told to do 'random acts of kindness?' Did Tabitha have to be trained to 'do outreach to the poor?' Did Tabitha flounder around wondering what her life purpose was and how she should invest her time? Did Tabitha go to a conference on how to care for the needy and live like Jesus?

I wonder as the widows gathered if they were surprised to find out that they weren't the only one Tabitha sewed for. I wonder if there were delightful exchanges of, "she made me one too!" I wonder if stories of her many little kindnesses were shared through tears of gratitude and fond memories of sweet conversations they'd had with this woman who was always doing kind things.

I wonder if Tabitha was simply a woman who believed Jesus. And this honest belief produced what He promises in John 7:37-38. Anyone who believes in me will never thirst and rivers of living water will flow from your heart. This River is so kind.

What an amazing river flowed from our mentor Tabitha. So much so that Jesus raised her to keep flowing. I can't wait to hear of her many kindnesses that flowed after she was raised from the dead.

Lord Jesus, thank you for inviting me today to always do kind things for others and to always help the poor.  Thank You for inviting me, once again, to simply believe You. Lead me today in that way of life. You lived it, Tabitha lived it, and I long to live it too. Simple. Beautiful. Small. Content.