All Over the World By Pamela Walck

As I got my 91-year-old-mom dressed today, I remembered that she wanted to wear a Snoopy sweatshirt. My sister and brother-in-law, both very generous people, a few months ago on my birthday, gave me a large suitcase, among other presents. The pretty suitcase was filled with at least twenty sweatshirts with the tags still on and other athletic wear. The sweatshirts ranged from NFL teams to city logos from all over the United States. They travel a lot! She said she had cleaned out one of their dressers in a guest room and decided to give them all to me.

I put the snoopy sweatshirt over my mom’s head. Rip, I put a hole right through the back.

“Sorry mom, I don’t know what happened. My nail didn’t even touch it.”

“Put in on me anyway,” she said.

“It might rip further.”

“Put it on.”

As I finished putting it on her, the arm ripped off. At that point, I just pulled on parts of the sweatshirt and the whole thing fell apart like construction paper. What is up with this? It was obviously defective. I threw it in the trash. Meanwhile, my mom, the bathroom floor, and anything near my mom was covered in black lint. I got her dressed into something else, moved out of the bathroom, and started cleaning up. As I sprayed and wiped up the bathroom, I looked at the paper towel in my hand just covered in black. I must have used about twenty paper towels. The black lint just kept going.

I thought about material goods. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal,” (Matthew 6:19-20 NIV)

Though it’s nice to have things, we brought nothing into this world and can’t take anything with us when we leave it. Yet, if this black lint could spread something negative in a small area, why couldn’t I spread something positive? And there’s nothing better than the Word of God—knowing Jesus as one’s Savior. This lint had spread through the entire bathroom. I want to be used for God’s Kingdom to spread His Word throughout the world as people desperately need Him. 150,000 people die every day and most go to Hell, not Heaven. The Bible clearly states this in Matthew 7:13-14.

As I cleaned the floor and got closer to the window, farther from where I initially put the snoopy sweatshirt on my mom, the lint too, got lighter and lighter. I thought of the 1040 window, the area in the world where people have at least heard of Jesus. Almost 70% of the five billion people that live there have not been evangelized. It’s located in a rectangular area of Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. They will ultimately perish unless somehow, they hear through missionaries, believers, Bibles sent to them, even dreams of Jesus. This should make us weep. (https://www.win1040.org/)

We have many people in this country that have grown up in other cultures where Christianity is not prevalent. One night, on New Year’s Eve, after leaving work, I was driving through Amherst, New York, and wanted a coffee. Normally I would go out of my way to find a Duncan Donuts, my favorite, but I felt the Lord saying no and impressing on me to stop at a Tim Horton’s Coffee shop. Ok, I thought.

As I went through the drive-through, a smiling dark skinned woman with long black hair and an accent handed me my coffee and change.

“Where are you from?” I asked. “India,” she replied.

We ended up having a great conversation. She comes from a Sikh background. I invited her to my church and gave her a Jesus Film gift card, so she could download and watch films on Christ in multiple languages. Please pray for this friend, Abby, to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

This coming New Year and every day let’s think about how we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds and share the Gospel. The Gospel can be shared anywhere there are people—grocery stores, the internet, parks, the mall, or the gym. You can do this alone or with another person as Jesus sent them out two by two (Luke 10:1). But if you are by yourself, go for it! Don’t be afraid, souls are waiting to know Jesus.

Pam loves to write and inspire others to walk in faith and share the Gospel. She has been a follower of Jesus for over twenty years. She works as a physical therapist, takes care of her sweet ninety-twoyear-old mom, and loves going to the gym. A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, Pam has taught many Bible studies, been on mission trips, volunteered in pastoral care, and helps with a ministry to children in Zambia.

Pam’s blog is found at https://joyluke157.wordpress.com/