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Serendipitous Thoughts by Sugar Bear

"The Real Party:

Why Are You Here and Who Is Waiting at the Window?"

In Luke 14:15–24, Jesus tells about a great banquet where the invited guests make excuses and do not come. The host then welcomes those who are often overlooked.

The message is simple:

God invites us into His kingdom, but we can become so busy, comfortable, or distracted that we miss what matters most. His table is open, and He wants His house filled.

"This Scripture brings me back to a hospice visit I will never forget.”

When I lived in Colorado, I started volunteering with hospice. One care receiver was a 90-year-old man.

I wish I could say I always arrived joyfully, but that would not be true. Some days I was tired, my schedule was crowded, and I wanted to cancel.

A YouGov poll found 53% of people believed last-minute cancellations had become more socially acceptable. Sometimes something comes up. But sometimes what comes up is our comfort.

I am ashamed to admit that I wondered whether this man was exaggerating. I was supposed to bring compassion, but I entered carrying judgment. I was not his doctor. I did not live inside his aging body. Yet Sugar Bear had appointed himself judge.

Then he died.

A few days later, someone told me that he sat by the windows and watched for my car.

While I was thinking about canceling, he was waiting by the window.

While I was counting what the visit cost me, he was counting on my presence.

I learned the hard way:

it was not about me!

Ever since then, before visiting a hospice care receiver, I have prayed 'Holy forever' , “Lord Jesus, this is not about me.

The correct mindset:

Let this visit be about You.”

I cannot heal pain or remove fear. But I can show up, listen, hold a hand, hear a memory, and remind someone they are not forgotten.

Grandma Maggie might have said, “Ronnie,don’t get so busy counting what love costs you that you forget what your presence may be worth to somebody else.”

That is what Jesus teaches in Luke 14. He heals a man, challenges those fighting for honored seats, and tells His host to welcome people who cannot repay him.

So Jesus asks us as courageous volunteers:

Why are you here?

Are you here to serve, or to control? To love, or to be appreciated?

Constructive truth says, “Here is what I see. How can I help?”

Chronic complaining says, “Nothing will be right until everyone does it my way.”

Service begins when I stop making myself the center of another person’s story.

Lord Jesus, help me bring compassion as a "courageous citizen" before judgment, truth without bitterness, and service without needing the spotlight.

When someone is waiting at the window, help me show up like Jesus.

"Sometimes the real magic is simply showing up when someone needs you.”

God bless you and this ministry!