"Gleanings from Gladys"

Gleanings from Gladys. Gladys? Gleanings? Gleanings. Glean. Does anyone really EVER use that word anymore? And...Gladys? Who IS Gladys? Why "Gleanings from Gladys?"

I'll start with Gladys.

Gladys is very special. She is a well dressed lady (if only in her own mind), highly esteemed friend (at least she thinks a lot of herself), submissive wife (just don't ask her husband, Gus, about that) and she carries a big Bible (King James Version, of course). She grew up in the Baptist church. She was saved and baptized at the very young age of 6 (although she secretly doubts her salvation). She can tell you about every Old Testament Sunday School story that has ever been taught and lecture for hours about New Testament parables. She has perfect attendance Sunday School pins that date back to 1970. Gladys loves gospel music. She even has the page numbers in the Baptist hymnal memorized! She thinks the new "praise and worship" songs are okay, but they shouldn't be used too often. (The Baptist hymnal is almost as sacred as the Bible.) Besides, it's just TRADITION to use the hymnal. She reads her Bible ALMOST everyday (nobody can be perfect, after all). She has been president of the WMU for 14 years (because no one would dare ask her to step down). She can quote from Robert's Rules of Order. She believes in keeping things the same year after year to maintain traditions and to avoid bickering. Gladys is, indeed, a SPECIAL lady.

Of course, Gladys is a fictitious character. In fact, you probably know that I played the role of Gladys on more than one occasion, the most prominent being during a Christmas Pageant at church. It was fun...mostly. I think it was more fun for the folks watching than it was for me. To say that I was out of my comfort zone would be an understatement. More about Gladys in a few minutes.

Gleanings. According to merriam-webster.com the definition of glean is 1: to gather grain or other produce left by reapers or 2: to gather information or material bit by bit; to pick over in search of relevant material.

Take a look at the first definition: to gather grain or other produce left by reapers. When I first started thinking about this blog - and my desire to explain the name - I thought more about the "gleanings" part than I did the "Gladys" part. The Old Testament story of Ruth teaches many lessons - my favorite is a picture of Christ as our Kinsman Redeemer...but that's another blog for another day.

In those days, according to God's command, when a farmer harvested his field he was to leave any grain that fell. He was to leave it there for poor people to come behind the reapers and pick up so they would have food for their family. (The reapers were also not to harvest all the way to the edges of the fields in order to leave some more for the poor.) Gathering of the left-over grain was called "gleaning." Ruth gleaned in the field of a man named Boaz. She gathered grain to feed herself and Naomi. Again, another blog...

So...the reapers come in and...well...reap...they harvest the grain. They may miss some and they will drop some. Ruth comes along behind them and gathers anything left on the ground. She also examines each stalk. She searches - bit by bit - to see if there is anything she can gather...or glean.

This leads to the second part of the definition: to gather information or material bit by bit; to pick over in search of relevant material. Now, go back to the title of my blog.

Gleanings from Gladys.

"Gathering information" or "relevant material" from Gladys.

Seriously? Gathering relevant material - learning - from Gladys. A self-absorbed, legalistic church member.

Absolutely.

I didn't consider myself to be legalistic. Not me. I mean...I grew up as a preacher's daughter. I could spot a legalist in a heartbeat. The only problem was I couldn't see the plank in my own eye.

It was a piece of cake to write lines for Gladys. The words came easy (well...somewhat...). The more I thought of lines for her, the more I realized that it came easy for a reason:

I. Was. Gladys.

Me? A legalist? Really, God? Are you sure? I slowly came to the realization that I was "judgmental, bound to the law and tradition." I was much like a Pharisee. No, I don't THINK I did things - served in the church - just to be seen and to make a name for myself. But, I was judgmental (wow...that's still hard to admit). And, it was usually over petty issues. For example, should a person...a Christian...be allowed to sing in the choir if he is not a church member? How about play in the band? Take up the offering? Okay...maybe, maybe not. Gladys would say absolutely not. Should a person wear jeans to church on Sunday night? How about Sunday morning? Gladys would say that you should wear your "Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes" if you're going to church. Yes, I believe a person should put his best foot forward at all times. If you are going to church...especially Sunday morning...you should look your best and be dressed modestly and appropriately. But, God sees the heart. Why should it REALLY matter what we wear - within reason - if He is only concerned with the inside, not the outside.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. Gladys taught me more about myself than I ever cared to learn. I will explore some of these lessons in future posts. I haven't "arrived." I still have many...too many...Gladys tendencies. It's an on-going struggle. But, I know that I am not the same person I was three years ago - a year ago - even just a few months ago. And, I pray that I will continue to glean from Gladys. But more importantly, I pray that I will continue to learn from the Holy Spirit. I pray that He will fashion me into His likeness.

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6