Many years ago I had a Sunday School teacher who said he could always tell when he was getting guidance through his prayers because the ideas were just wiser than he was able to have come up with on his own. As I have gotten older I suspect that it was also often scarier than what he would have embarked upon on his own since that is my experience. But such is our faith journey.
Our church is hosting weekly meetings for individuals and families who have been touched by incarceration. The response has been underwhelming in terms of numbers. And friends and family have expressed concern about my spirits as I go each week with very little to report for it. But this is the deal. I offered this weekly time to God to be available to God's children in this way through the end of March 2015. Then if we are still not getting interest I'll be in prayer again for guidance. But until then I will keep my promise to God because God has never failed to keep a promise to me.
And I also know that our availability is touching lives even without a response that others might find impressive. I have had quiet conversations in grocery store lines, in the parking lot after church, at the hair dressers because I talk about this ministry. And if the folks who share their sorrows with me don't show up on Thursday evening, that does not mean they do not appreciate knowing they are not alone. You see, I know that the person beside you in the pew at church or behind you at the grocery store or under the dryer at the salon carrys a secret sorrow that is far more prevalent than most can imagine. And if God has sent me to bring a reminder of Gods unfailing commitment to reconciliation, then that is enough. If God has more in mind, yeah for that too.
But this is precisely what is written: God has prepared things for those who love him that no eye has seen, or ear has heard, or that haven’t crossed the mind of any human being. 1 Corinthians 2:9 (CEB)
Our church is hosting weekly meetings for individuals and families who have been touched by incarceration. The response has been underwhelming in terms of numbers. And friends and family have expressed concern about my spirits as I go each week with very little to report for it. But this is the deal. I offered this weekly time to God to be available to God's children in this way through the end of March 2015. Then if we are still not getting interest I'll be in prayer again for guidance. But until then I will keep my promise to God because God has never failed to keep a promise to me.
And I also know that our availability is touching lives even without a response that others might find impressive. I have had quiet conversations in grocery store lines, in the parking lot after church, at the hair dressers because I talk about this ministry. And if the folks who share their sorrows with me don't show up on Thursday evening, that does not mean they do not appreciate knowing they are not alone. You see, I know that the person beside you in the pew at church or behind you at the grocery store or under the dryer at the salon carrys a secret sorrow that is far more prevalent than most can imagine. And if God has sent me to bring a reminder of Gods unfailing commitment to reconciliation, then that is enough. If God has more in mind, yeah for that too.
But this is precisely what is written: God has prepared things for those who love him that no eye has seen, or ear has heard, or that haven’t crossed the mind of any human being. 1 Corinthians 2:9 (CEB)
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