Loving Miss Dottie

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!  For most of us, this day can be summed up in one of two words that both begin with the same letter......LOVE and LONELINESS!  To love and be loved is the bedrock of our existence.  Thankfully, we have a God who at His core is love.  John 3:16 says it best, "For God LOVED the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life".....now that's love!

What about the lonely?  What about those who don't have a relationship with our God of love?  How can we show them God's love?  Let me share with you a story I heard about one person's desire to love others to Jesus.

"I work at a local community college and often buy lunch in the cafeteria.  When I first encountered the lunch lady, she was taking my money.  I noticed that she had short, gray hair and the kind of fingernail polish that changes according to the holiday.  I also noticed that her nametag said "Dottie".  The next week I told her I liked her nails, and I noticed that she had a bad chest cold.  I prayed for her health, but I didn't mention my prayer to her.  The following week, I asked how her cold was.  She said it was getting worse and she was worried because she is a cancer survivor.  She was afraid that the cancer might have come back.  It was two more weeks before I saw Miss Dottie again.  When I asked how she was, she said the doctors had confirmed the return of her cancer.  We teared up together, and I promised to pray for her.  The next week I brought Miss Dottie a present.  It was a book on facing cancer with faith, hope and humor.  I also gave her a card thanking her for always being there to smile at me, and I offered to go to treatment with her sometime.  She grabbed my hand and said, 'Thank you so much!'  Then she asked me to come around to the other side of the booth to give her a hug.  Later Miss Dottie had to quit her job due to her cancer.  Our church hosted a 'We love Miss Dottie' fundraiser and raised over $1,000 for her family.  She was astonished that strangers would care for her in this way.  I'm grateful to God that I noticed Miss Dottie.  God has planted her family in my heart, and I can't stop praying for her." 

We have an opportunity to have God plant a "Miss Dottie" in our lives.  This Sunday at 3:00pm, Parkside Fellowship is in charge of leading the worship service at Creekside.  I want to ask you to consider clearing your calendar and joining myself and several others as we simply love others who are lonely.  We also want to do the same for Beaverton Lodge and will be planning opportunities to love this community as well.

Again I hope to see you Sunday, both at one of our morning services and again at Creekside Village at 3:00pm.  Until then, remember this, noticing others will change your life.  It will plant people firmly in your heart.  When that happens, everything changes......including you!

See you Sunday.

Pastor Doug