Psalm 25:14-15 (NLT)
14 The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.
15 My eyes are always on the Lord, for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.

Anna Heistad. Marcy House. You’ve probably never heard of them. Yet, she had a profound impact on many generations of those didn’t have. I’m betting that you’ve heard of Jane Addams and the Hull house. Anna and Jane we very close friends. Having spend the day with her grandnephew (who happens to be my mentor and friend), who himself has spent a life of service as a school teacher, who constantly surprises me with his humble stories that end up with me saying “no way” and shaking my head in amazement. We had an amazing day yesterday driving to Springfield, IL so see an exhibit on ordinary heros that featured my friends great Aunt along with two others.

What does this have to do with scripture? Nothing if you’re just reading words. Everything if you’re reading and learning about how we are called to live life. The traps of my enemies are deep and frequent – from money to sex, from this to that. Yet, my eyes are on the Lord to do what is right. We talked a lot on our car ride – 1 hour at the museum wrapped by 7.5 hours of travel in the car.

Our life is a boat, we leave a wake behind us. Some people leave a wake that drowns other people. Some people, like my friend, his father, his great Aunt, his sister, his brother, etc. leave a wake that pulls people forward and upward. This is the true calling of God to his people.

John 12:25 (NLT)
25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.

The words of the bible teach us how to live. If you believe, take a close look at the wake of your life.

If you’re going to get hung up on goats and manservants, and not the message, or if you insist that a God can’t exist because you can’t understand it, please crawl back in your little hole of self importance and arrogance. Then, take a close look at the wake of your life.

Romans 8:11 (NLT)
11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

After yesterday’s adventure and eye opening I’m hesitantly pushing the throttle forward and trimming the tabs to create as large a wake of glory to God’s way as I can. We can learn a lot from Anna Heistad. And the millions like her.

PS The Marcy House was funded privately when it was built in 1930. It was torn down in 2015 due to lack of funds. Think about that when you talk about your donations.