Three Things About Jonah

I admire Jonah a lot. Three of his strongest traits are his compassion for others, his great faith, and his spiritual intuition. In all seriousness, if Jonah were financially able to do so, he would go down to Haiti and help those people personally. Jonah would gladly give someone the shirt off his back without thinking twice. He would lend a needy person money without ever worrying if that person could or would ever pay him back.

I really admire that about him. I tend to be a bit more selfish. It's not that I don't even have a desire to help others. I just seem to be more concerned with my own time and money. I am glad someone like Jonah is able to help me learn to put others before myself, even if the natural man part of me sometimes resents it. I actually am grateful for it, though.

Jonah also has great faith. He just always believes that things are going to work out if one applies enough faith. He's usually right, too. I try to have great faith, and I get better every year of my life, but Jonah's faith astounds me. Case in point: when he moved his stuff into our house, he brought his cat along, and the cat got loose and ran away (probably trying to find its old home). Jonah prayed and prayed for the safe return of that cat and looked for it every day. He would cry himself to sleep over the loss of the cat. But he never gave up hope and believed he would find her again. Months passed. I was sure the cat was lost forever and secretly felt Jonah was wasting his energy on a hopeless cause.

One day, Jonah's mom saw a picture of a stray cat that was up for adoption and felt sure it was the lost cat. She called him, and sure enough, it was absolutely her. She has very distinct markings and a paw with an extra toe and answered to her name and recognized Jonah immediately. That cat now lives very happily in our home after a very tramatic experience, and ironically, seems to have really taken to me, who didn't believe she would be found. It was truly a miracle, and I know it's the strength of Jonah's faith that brought it about.

I often live in a very practical, rational world, and sometimes I excuse the true power of faith because of that. I remember when Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped. I was absolutely sure she was dead. But she turned up alive and has gone on to great things. Rational and practical are one thing, but faith is just as real as anything. I'm glad Jonah reminds me of that. The cat story is just one example of the power of Jonah's faith. I'm glad he reminds me of that power. It helps buoy me up during difficult times.

Jonah is also one of the most spiritually perceptive people I know. It's as if he can look into a person's soul and know exactly what they are going through. He can truly sense if there is something amiss in a person's life or something good just by looking at them. People are also drawn to Jonah. It is not uncommon for complete strangers (as well as friends) to come up to him and completely unburden their souls and trials and problems. Sometimes this gift is a burden to Jonah. He feels a great responsibility to listen to people and being one who likes to fix things, he also feels a great burden to help these people. Sometimes he wants to avoid the interaction because it's too much, and Jonah is very sensitive soul. But he also feels that God has given him this gift to help others, and as long as God keeps pushing them his way, Jonah feels the responsibility to at least be there for him.

As I've said, because I am selfish, I often don't have the kind of patience to deal with a lot of the things Jonah has to deal with. Admittedly, sometimes Jonah doesn't either. It wears him out. But he certainly is more patient and willing to help than I feel I am.

When the Spirit prompts Jonah to do something, he tries very hard to do so, and it almost always pays off. Some of the promptings he gets involve a lot of faith. Fortunately, he has that.

He's truly one of the most spiritually in-tune people I know. It amazes me. God has truly blessed him with many gifts, and I am grateful to share my life with him.