I've Been Reminded

I love, but hate those who remind me to do something that I committed to do. I think it is called accountability and I preach that all of the time.

A friend of mine who I went to high school with sent me an email and reminded me that I hadn't blogged since Oct. 30th. Actually, last week I thought I should write about some of the experiences during the holidays in the outreach ministry. So to my good friend whom I am grateful that he reads the blog and holds me accountable, here we go.

The holidays are always a difficult time for those who are homeless and poor, but this year I felt it even more. God has lead me to base the outreach ministry on building relationships as we meet the needs of those we come in contact with. This involves listening to much of the pain that others feel and during the holidays that pain is magnified among the poor because many do not have family relationships, shelter, food, or other needs. A phrase I hear quite often during the holidays is "I hate this time of year".

This year we did some additional ministry projects during the holidays, where I heard even more of these stories. Before I left for some vacation time before Christmas, I was doing a devotional with a group of people who came to our food distribution we have each week. During the devotional, I broke down and confessed to them that I was feeling a great deal of stress from listening and seeing the pain that so many were in. After telling them that I needed a break and was going to hit the gym hard to release the bottled up emotion, some of them came to me and told me they loved me and hoped I would feel better soon. Powerful words from people who feel much of that pain all year.

The minister got ministered to. What wonderful people they are.