JanBeek

Happy September 1st to you!
The word for the month is Devoted.
The question for the month is,
“To what or to whom are you devoted?”

Some might answer,
“I am devoted to earning money”
while others might say,
“I’m devoted to spending money…
Put on my gravestone:
Being of sound mind, I spent it all!”

Some are devoted to coffee,
getting their daily dose at Starbucks,
while others are devoted to gardening
or to reading or to raising their families.

What’s your answer?

Some of the things
that capture our devotion
are worth the time and trouble.
Others are not.

“Ezra had devoted himself to
the study and observance of
the Law of the Lord,
and to teaching its decrees
and laws in Israel.”
Ezra 7:10

The word devotion means
“earnest affection for a person or cause.”
It’s a better word than commitment.
We can be committed to a cause
out of sheer duty;
but to be devoted
implies commitment plus affection.

September connotates “Back to School” for me.
As a retired educator, I never tire of teaching.
My children are grown and my grandchildren
are not close by, so my teaching audience has changed.
I am devoted to teaching the seniors in “The Manor.”
It is our local nursing home. The people there are delightful!

Because I am devoted to teaching,
I agree with the commentary I read recently
on the Ezra 7:10 scripture above:
“As our children head back to school,
it’s time for us to don our backpacks
and enroll in the Ezra School of Bible Study –
devoting ourselves to the study and observance
of God’s Word and to teaching it to others.”

The people that garner your devotion
and the causes to which you are devoted
help to define who you are.
The word for September is “Devoted.”
How do you define yours?

Love and Hugs to you from
JanBeek