Dear Ones,
Happy May Day! We found a May basket on our doorknob today but no name of who to thank. It is a sunny day and hope to get a nice walk in. This morning I did food prep, wrote letters and cleaned the apartment. This afternoon at 1:07 p.m. central time there is a celebration of Gen’s life at https://rmchurch.org I know many of you have prayed for her and may want to watch. She will be missed but we comforted to know she is now with the Lord! 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
When we are a follower of Christ, we are to love our enemies, those who have caused us pain. That is not easy to do but we are told to overcome evil with good. We must hate the evil but love the evildoer. That means we can condemn the evil but we give up the need to retaliate. When evil is met with more evil, it seems to grow and multiply. Just look at what is happening in our country. Hate won’t wipe out hate and the only thing is love. Every time we return evil to our enemies, it only gets worse and we are controlled by it. Jesus told us in the sermon on the mount that we are to bless those who persecute us. We are to bless then and do good to them. Now is that easy? Absolutely not in our own strength. That doesn’t mean we can’t stand up for what is right but our enemy may be very surprised when we respond in love. Author Stephen Seamands tells the story that took place in 1915 when over a million Armenians were killed by the Turks in a religious and ethnic conflict. One young girl saw her parents killed and her sisters given to some of the men while she was claimed by the officer in charge. She was treated harshly and sexually abused but managed finally to escape after several months. She became a nurse and worked in ICU and several years later her patient was this very officer who had enslaved her. He was in a coma and she gave him continual nursing care. When he regained consciousness, a doctor told him that the only reason he was alive was because of the constant care of his nurse. He then recognized her and asked why she didn’t kill him when she had a chance and she said, “Because I am a follower of the One who said, ‘Love your enemies.’” Jesus word is to all of us as he said in Luke 6: 27-28 (ESV), “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you., bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you.” Wondrous things happen when we let God change our hearts and give us love for our enemies. We can start today by being a channel of His love,
Challenge for today: Do something kind for your “enemy,” and pray for him or her.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy