The Difference Between Night and Day

The other night, I was attending a Christmas party at a local homeless shelter where the board and staff members of the shelter along with the residents get together for a meal, words of encouragement, and some gift exchange. A number of the women who are staying at the shelter helped prepare some of the dishes and were responsible for the cleanup afterwards.

I stayed a little bit after the party was over and went into the kitchen where one of the residents was washing dishes. She was from New York and had been at the shelter for a little over a month. I wished her a Merry Christmas and then she began to tell me a little bit about her Christmas last year, and what a difference this year was, being in a safe warm place where people cared about her. As she talked further about her experience, tears came to her eyes, her lips began to quiver, and she said, "Because of Martha's Home, I have hope".

Hope, the difference between night and day.

Earning The Right Into Lives

I suppose it is true of any segment of society but I find it especially true in my ministry, as it relates to the way relationships progress to a point that people let you into the deep recesses of their lives and feelings.

Yesterday, I sat in the living room of a woman, talking about where she is spiritually and her brief life story, which, is quite interesting. As I drove away after about an hour visit, I couldn't help but think that just a year ago she was just one of the many who come to our Thursday food distribution that we see once a week that are acquaintances. However, she told me one day, that her son was in a Texas prison and asked if I would write to him and try to encourage him because he was quite depressed. I did write, and quickly received a return letter from him much to his mother's delight. From that time on, the doors into her life began to open, and soon she was inviting me and the other members of our staff to her house for coffee, lunch, dinner, etc.. Would this have happened if I hadn't written the letter? I can't say. However, I can say, that the more I invest time and effort into peoples lives, the more doors continue to open, which results in meaningful relationships like this one.

Oh, by the way, she is placing her membership with the church this week and we are privileged to have her.

Community Partners

Natives to the Texas Panhandle have a saying, "If you don't like the weather now, just wait fifteen minutes". Having lived here for fifty years, I think that is a bit of an exaggeration but, its close, and November 29th was one of those days that would support the idea. Forecasters were predicting one to three inches of snow by morning, but the storm took an unexpected shift to the south and over eight inches of wind driven snow was on the ground the next morning shutting down travel and schools in the area.

By late morning on the 30th, I received a call from the local Red Cross asking if they could use the church building as a shelter for over 100 bus travelers who were stranded because of the storm. Volunteers from the Red Cross began showing up at 1:00 pm with trailers of food, bedding, signs, and supplies along with a lady who had the word "Sheriff" on her hat. After 15 minutes of watching her direct the volunteers, I knew that the best thing I could do is get out of the way, and in 1 hours time a portion of the church building was converted to a shelter ready to receive weary travelers. Later that night, one man told my wife and I that he had been on the bus 4 days now trying to get to his destination. He was quite grateful that he was not sleeping in the bus station that night. As we were leaving, one man, who was responding to a media report that blankets were needed, brought a box of blankets for those who were stranded.

As media reports came in that evening and the next morning about the temporary shelter, I was quite proud of the way the Red Cross responded and how the body of Christ (the church), could help make some peoples lives a little more pleasant for one evening.

The next morning, I went back to the church building by 8:00, and the only signs of the shelter being there were some tracked up floors and a left over Red Cross sign on the door. The media was reporting that the travelers were back on the bus and once again heading to their destination.