He Never Misses

…And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40)

Low hanging fruit is what one would call today’s choice for my little column. Ditto for the quote above from the 25th chapter of Matthew’s gospel. I mean, this is the insanely bright and hard working woman who literally spends herself running the Merciful H.E.L.P. Center at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church in Carmel, Indiana for goodness sakes! This piece of scriptural goodness is all over the building, out of which more than 20 ministries are operating providing remarkably generous and compassionate care to many thousands of needy folks each year.

Jayne Slaton, who is pictured above with her grandson, is just flat out a stunning human being. She’s the integrity-filled wife, mom and grandmother whose smile lights up the area she inhabits. She’s sassy, outspoken, fierce, and full of the joy of the Lord.

What makes Jayne truly remarkable to me is that every person who I know (that also knows her fairly well) essentially says the same thing when I ask them to tell me more about her. It’s always how she shines the brightest when she discovers a way to help someone else find the sunshine. She’s one of those glittering jewels we run into rarely in life. She’s an encourager who is often heard saying things like, “I know you can do it!” Jayne is a beautiful witness of faith because she knows how to laugh through tears and praise through pain. Her sense humor is phenomenal and her laugh is contagious. That’s only possible, of course, when we know that the Lord will never leave us to weather our storms all alone. The strength of her conviction is spoken loudly in her actions. Jayne absolutely wants the best for others. She’s made it her priority in all aspects of her life– sometimes at great personal cost.

St. Augustine said this, “Love has hands to help others. It has feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sights and sorrows of men. This is what love looks like.” Simply put, these words remind me of Jayne Slaton. She doesn’t wonder about the worthiness of anyone. She just loves the other guy and… does it better than nearly everyone I know.

Today, I just wanted to take a moment to share a few affirming words with the birthday girl. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAYNE! Thank you for all you do each day for others. Yours is the face of Christ, lovely lady. YOU ARE SO INSPIRING THAT IT BLOWS MY MIND!! I sure hope that very blessed family of yours is loving you up, because yours is certainly a life worth celebrating in a BIG way!!