Admiring Him - Devotional 18

As we discern the perfection of our Saviour's character we shall desire to become wholly transformed and renewed in the image of His purity. The more we know of God, the higher will be our ideal of character and the more earnest our longing to reflect His likeness. – Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pg. 19.

                Since I was little I’ve always looked up to someone: my teacher, my cousin, my Sabbath school teacher, my parents, or just someone really nice; but especially I looked up to anyone who played the piano very well. I have a second uncle that is an amazing pianist. When he was very young he would practice five hours a day, at least. Around the age of 14 he was giving concerts in Europe. Now he is a well-known pianist and still gives concerts once in a while.

Ever since I started to learn piano, I’ve longed to play like him. I would watch his old concerts on VHS or go to the internet and watch more recent ones; I would look at his hands and try to move my fingers and position my hands in the same way he did. One day, when I was 16 years old, he came back from Europe, and I had the opportunity to take some piano lessons with him. I was very ecstatic! I played some pieces for him, and he was really pleased with me. I paid attention to everything that he said and taught me, and I learned a lot. When I went home I tried to practice how he told me, and for many months I remembered all the tips he gave me. I wanted to play like my uncle so I did everything I could to achieve that.

More than playing the piano as well as my uncle, I desire to have the character of Jesus; but how can I? By having an earnest desire to be transformed and renewed in His image, by getting to know Him more through reading the story of His life on earth found in the Bible, and by asking Him to teach me day by day how to be more like Him, I know I will be changed.

~ Mildred Rhys

Yummy Carrots - Devotional 17

Character is the great harvest of life. – Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pg. 90.

                The carrot season is here. Everybody at Fountainview knows what it means: lots of work, and lots of fun! This year I happened to be a part of the entire process, and it was a great experience.

The process begins with the preparation of the soil: big tractors mix the soil and form the beds for the seeds. Then, the sowing starts, and once a field is planted, we turn on the irrigation. In the following summer months, as the tiny carrot tops appear on the surface, other leaves appear too, and the weeding process begins. This is hard and sometimes painful work as we lay face down on a cart that is pulled by a tractor and pull weeds. We work on the weeding cart eight hours a day, five days a week, for a few months. Some weeds are big and have grown around the little carrot plants, and these are difficult to pull out without damaging the baby carrots. But the carrots grow taller every week.

Finally the culmination: the harvest. The harvester digs the carrots and shoots them into big bins that we stack in huge coolers. Some day we will wash and bag the carrots for selling. We all enjoy seeing the hard work of a whole year turned into thousands and thousands of yummy carrots!

My character is something that is growing too, and like the carrots, it needs some care and hard work. The Holy Spirit is the one that prepares the soil –my heart, to receive the seed –the Word of God. Jesus is the only one that can pull out the weeds in my heart –bad habits, selfishness, pride, and all the others that would hurt my character plant. But in the end, the harvest will be abundant and my character will be ready for Heaven.

~ Mildred Rhys

Warm, Filling Love - Devotional 16

If the love of Christ dwells in us, we shall not only cherish no hatred toward our fellows, but we shall seek in every way to manifest love toward them. – Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pg. 58. 

                It had happened again. It seemed like every time I was around her she had something sarcastic and bitter to say about me. It could be about anything; the way I dressed, talked, worked, or the people I hung out with. She always got on my nerves! I tried many times to be nice to her and to be her friend, but it never seemed to work. If I wasn’t a Christian I would slap her on the face, I remember thinking one time.

                But one day it went too far. I wasn’t having a good day, and she made fun of the fact. That made me mad. I walked away, but as I did I started praying. I just can’t handle this anymore, Lord; I need you to put love in my heart towards her. I need that love right now. The idea came to my mind to go visit her and talk to her; not talk about what had happened, but chat about random things, just as friends! I made some cookies and marched to her room. She opened the door and greeted me with a warm smile; she was really surprised that I went to see her! We had a really nice conversation together for more than an hour and a half, and when I was just about to leave she said she was sorry for the way that she had treated me before. Wow! I couldn’t believe it; what a change!

Ever since then our friendship has been improving more and more, only because I decided to let Jesus work in me and put His love into my heart. If I ask Him, He can not only fill me with His love, but also teach me how to show it in a practical way that warms others’ hearts too.

~ Mildred Rhys

One Big Family - Devotional 15

The children of God are those who are partakers of His nature. It is not earthly rank, nor birth, nor nationality, nor religious privilege, which proves that we are members of the family of God; it is love, a love that embraces all humanity. - Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pg. 76

                Leaving your home country and moving to another country is always an adventure and a challenge; you experience different cultures and manners, different food, different people. Sometimes it is a little scary not knowing how to behave in a way that is normal for the people of the other country. This happened to me when I moved from Argentina to North America.

                Latino culture is very different from the American culture. The people in South America are very lively and warm, extremely happy and outgoing, and they like to express their feelings in pretty extreme ways. For example, when we greet someone, we do it with a kiss on the cheek. For me it is normal; I’m used to it because it’s how I was raised, but this is not normal for someone from North America. However, I wasn’t aware of the fact. I remember meeting a girl in my class, who was one of the first girls that I met. I went to her and I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. It seemed like she felt a little awkward, but I didn’t realize why. Afterwards, I was thinking about it and the thought came to my mind, “Of course, they don’t do it like that in North America!” I felt really embarrassed.

                I like to think that in heaven there’s no rank, nor birth, nor nationality, nor different cultures. I’m not going to have to worry about looking weird or different. We are all going to be a big family, and God’s love – the real love – is going to be in our hearts. I won’t feel embarrassed ever again!

~ Mildred Rhys

“Daddy” Devotional 14

His example is for us. – Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pg. 58

            I sat on the couch and leaned my head on his chest. I looked at his big hands; they were wrinkled and tough, hardened by many years of work on the land and the farm. I knew that he woke up every morning before the sun did: to go milk the cows, fix fences, feed the hens, open the water canals for the irrigation, and to do other farm chores. “Daddy, can I go milk the cows with you tomorrow?” I asked.

            When I say “Daddy” I’m referring to my grandfather instead of my dad. You probably wonder why. Well, my grandpa never liked the idea of feeling too old, so he decided to go by “Daddy” instead of “Grandpa,” and since I only spoke Spanish, I just thought “Daddy” was a nickname for my grandpa.

“If you wake up before the sun does, you sure can,” he smiled. I knew it wouldn’t happen.

            Next morning, I woke up and breakfast was ready. I could hear a tractor outside and the noise of farm work. Daddy came into the kitchen and so did the aroma of dirt, hay, cows, tractor oil, and fresh morning. He looks like a real farmer; he is a real farmer, and I wish I was like him. But what I remember the most about him is his calmness, how he was always willing to help people in need, and how he would always hum hymns whenever he would take me to school.

            It’s been seven years since a brain tumor took Daddy away from me. Sometimes I wish he could be here and see how much I’ve grown; now I can drive tractors, wake up before the sun does, and do farm work. He would be so proud of me! Even when he is not here anymore, he still teaches me so much: I learn from his legacy to be kind to people and to help those in need; I learn to be slow to speak; and I learn to always have a song in my heart. His example will be with me until I see him again in Heaven.

~ Mildred Rhys

“Just a few more minutes!” Devotional 13

“…for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” - Matthew 6:8 NIV

                “I’m tired of this! I don’t want to practice piano anymore!” I yelled at my dad while tears battled to be set free.

“Listen, Chiquita, I don’t care whether you think it’s pointless or not, you are still going to practice every day for an hour, at least.” My dad calmly replied.

Inside of me everything wanted to explode. I ground my teeth as I angrily dropped myself onto the piano bench.

“Just remember something; you are going to thank me for this when you are older,” my dad smiled.

10 years later.

 I ran to the piano and my fingers started to fly over the keys as I played some scales. Then I started working on this new piece, a Beethoven sonata. I practiced the first page for at least an hour. Then two hours seemed to glide by. After three hours, I heard my mom from the kitchen: “Millie, that’s enough piano playing for today; you need to do some chores.” I didn’t want to stop my practice; I would have played all day long, but I needed to help Mom.

2 years later.

I’m at school with a pretty tight schedule now: wake up at 5:50; do devotions; get dressed; have worship group; go to breakfast; have half an hour of required instrument practice; go to work until noon; go to class; and the list goes on. How I wish I had more time to practice piano just like I did before! I remember how much I disliked practicing piano when I was little and how my dad still made me practice. Yeah, he was right! He knew from the beginning how much I was going to enjoy playing the piano and what a blessing my music was going to be to others. “Dad,” I hugged him, “thanks for not giving up on me when I gave up on myself.”

~ Mildred Rhys

Stunning Harp Display - Devotional 12

Real godliness never prompts an effort at display. Those who desire words of praise and flattery, and feed upon them as a sweet morsel, are Christians in name only. – Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pg. 80. 

            I rushed through the door as I heard the bell going off. I don’t want to be late for practice time. I dragged the harp all the way from the auditorium to my favorite practice spot—a corner in the hallway, just next to the stairs. I did some of my warm ups, and soon started playing my favorite piece—a really challenging and stunning number. Some students that were walking by stopped to hear me play. I heard some of them commenting on 'how good I played,' and I felt satisfied.

            I liked my practice spot in the hallway because I could focus better where nobody else was playing an instrument. But one day I realized it wasn’t the only reason why I chose that spot. I knew that people would walk by and utter some words of praise, and that made me feel good. Why did I need people to tell me how good I was in order to feel warm and accomplished? Why did others’ opinions matter so much to me?

I decided to exchange my favorite practice spot for an out-of-the-way corner where nobody walked by.

            Jesus loves me for who I am and not for how well I may or may not play the harp. When I try to show off, I doubt His love, and I become a Christian in name only. I want others to see Jesus shining through me, rather than seeing a challenging and stunning harp display.        

~ Mildred Rhys