Toni, Susie and Rebecca

I can think of two women right off the top of my head that are examples of The Rebecca Principle: Toni and Susie.

Toni works at the post office. Most of us who live in Dodge have to pick up our mail and Toni is consistently cheerful to serve us in the post office. She goes the extra mile. One Saturday morning I knew I would not be able to retrieve my ticket for a package since the window just closed. But as I walked back to my car, Toni was driving off. She parked her vehicle, jumped out and went back in with me to get that package. And she never stopped smiling!

Susie works in the Production Department of the company which manufacturers the product that we sell. Again another cheerful gal, Susie can always be counted on to pick up slack when the coordinators are not around to receive our calls. I will never forget the business meeting I attended in Phoenix followed by a fancy awards dinner. Several of the managers received well deserved awards. One of them gave Susie accolades in his acceptance speech, remarking that her support and help allowed him to increase sales that year. As he finished his remarks, the whole audience stood up and gave Susie a standing ovation. Everybody expressed just the way I felt about my coworker.

In Genesis, Chapter 24, Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac.

^10-14 The servant took ten of his master's camels and, loaded with gifts from his master, traveled to Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor. Outside the city, he made the camels kneel at a well. It was evening, the time when the women came to draw water. He prayed, "O God, God of my master Abraham, make things go smoothly this day; treat my master Abraham well! As I stand here by the spring while the young women of the town come out to get water, let the girl to whom I say, 'Lower your jug and give me a drink,' and who answers, 'Drink, and let me also water your camels'—let her be the woman you have picked out for your servant Isaac. Then I'll know that you're working graciously behind the scenes for my master."

Rebecca was the young woman who gave a drink to Abraham’s servant and then offered to provide water for his camels which was no easy task! This woman of integrity was hard working, going the extra mile in her service. Only Rebecca would fill the requirement to be Isaac’s wife. She received her reward.

We learn from the Rebecca Principle that hard work and integrity obtains the promotion. Not only that, it pleases the Lord.

The Trade

My best friend’s husband died, but she did not place her wedding ring in a draw. She designed a new ring, an everyday kind of ring, and incorporated the diamonds from her wedding ring. I cheered her on for her ingenuity to keep his memory close at all times. A gal in my critique group wrote about the best Christmas present she ever received. She inherited her late mother-in-law’s mink coat. She loved her dearly, but when she put on the coat, she felt like she stepped out of the 1950’s. She hated the thought of it placed in a box and stacked on a closet shelf. Her husband took it to a furrier and surprised her at Christmas with a brand new mink stole. I choked up when I read her words of love for her mother-in-law and the beautiful mink cape she wore for a classy event in frigid Flagstaff during the holidays. The Spiritual Trade off I don’t have a mink coat or extra diamonds to create something new. I do have some thin...

Spiritual Sundays ~ Not Just For Prophets

I smiled when I heard Pat Robertson on the 700 Club make this remark: “Doesn’t everyone talk to God?” He was referring to the jab that Joy Behar gave to Christine O’Donnell, running for Senate in Delaware. Christine was asked by one of her supporters why she goes out on a limb defending her conservative Christian convictions in such a hostile campaign. “Because God told me to” she replied. And for that, Joy called her crazy because she hears from God. The cry of my heart is to be able to hear God’s voice. When God speaks personally, there’s nothing else like it in the whole world. I studied the 25th chapter of Genesis this week and noticed how troubled Rebekah was during her pregnancy. She said “Why is this happening to me?” She was referring to the jostling in her womb. So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her: “Two Nations are in your womb, And two peoples from within you will be separated; One people will be stronger than the other And the older will serve the y...

Spiritual Sundays ~ Shalom!

On Monday at sunset we will celebrate our Jewish Roots for the 27th year with a Passover Seder. We have a lot of memories over the years and I always look forward to eating this special meal with its unique foods and order of celebration. One of my favorite memories over the years is the hiding of the Afikomen matza. The Rabbi, or my husband in our home, places three pieces of matza (unleavened bread) in three pockets of a bag called the Afikomen. The Afikomen is placed on the table with other elements. At the beginning of the Seder, the rabbi removes the middle matza, breaks it in half, and hides the half in a linen napkin somewhere in the room. Towards the end of the night, just after the Seder meal is eaten, the rabbi turns to the youngest person, usually a child, and asks him to find the hidden matza. He then rewards the child usually with some chocolate candy. We’ve asked Jewish people why this is part of the ritual and most reply that they do not know what it represents. I’ve rea...

AndreaOctober 21, 2009 at 11:18 AM
What beautiful modern day examples of Rebecca. GOD Bless them both!

Often, integrity and hard work are difficult to find. Thank you for this reminder to be more pleasing to our Lord.

I pray you are doing well. I think of you often! I am thankful the blogging world joined our hearts as friends.

Blessed to have met you,
andrea
Heart2HeartOctober 21, 2009 at 12:11 PM
I love this post! I too love to model the Rebecca principle! It reminds us that we are serving God by serving those around us. Let us all be a light that shines in dark places.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat
RCUBEsOctober 21, 2009 at 12:16 PM
It's hard to find people with these qualities now but it doesn't hurt if each of us remember this and put it into our actions. So, thank you for reminding us. Have a great day sister Mary. Sending you some banana muffins I just baked...Got coffee? Love to you sister!
Kathleen October 21, 2009 at 5:44 PM
A woman of God is a rare creature. I so admire godly character - far more in my older age than ever I did in youth.

Thank you for sharing. Blessings,
Kathleen
LorenOctober 21, 2009 at 5:56 PM
Instilling hardword and integrity is something we try to do with our kids and also the youth when we taught them. Thankyou for sharing this and honoring these women I am sure they were humbled!

I love you Mary ~ you are an example of this as well ya know!
Mevely317October 21, 2009 at 7:00 PM
What a beautiful tribute, Mary!
Always thinking of others, I'm so blessed to call you my friend!

Hugs,
Myra
Kelly LOctober 21, 2009 at 8:42 PM
This is an incredible post - I know I pray to be more like Rebecca everyday -

Love to you and thank you so much for your prayers.
Kelly
DeniseOctober 22, 2009 at 5:22 AM
Such a wonderful post sweetie.
christy roseOctober 22, 2009 at 7:59 AM
Hard work and integrity reveal the character of God within us. Allowing Him to empower us in both of these ways even gives Him the glory in that we are able to work hard and be honest because He empowers us to do so! Great post Mary!!
JackieOctober 22, 2009 at 2:16 PM
I love this post! It's just so difficult to find people with integrity, kindness and character these days and what a reminder that we as Christians should BE the example of serving others as Jesus did! Thanks so much for the reminder - it pleases the heart of God when we are true "imitators" of Him!
Sweet Blessings!
Jackie

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