I Became Angry

In just a few days, I will complete six years of my ministry on staff here a Central, and in the first weeks of the ministry I met a young lady who was needing some financial assistance. She would come to our food distribution and so I saw her just about every week. She basically lived in different houses of those who would take her for some reason or another. In the time that I have known her she has lost two children to child protective services and her life seems to have very little direction. She has been in jail a number of times on different charges. Most of them drug and alcohol related. She has what I consider a very calm and sweet spirit and a few years back I talked with her about her life and how I felt that she had a great deal of potential with some grooming, shelter and financial stability. I even offered to help her by entering her in a job program here at the church building which would open up a number of possibilites for her. She just looked at me, shook her head, and said, "Oh Mark", as if to say "you just don't understand". She didn't ever see herself as being any different than what she was. So I just resigned myself to pray for her and continue contact with her as long as I could. I don't see her now but about once a month.

Two weeks ago, I saw her again on the street corner approaching car windows asking for money, which is pretty aggressive based on the fact that most stand on the street corner holding a sign. She must have needed the money badly and probably not for good reasons. I sat in my truck finding myself getting angry and wanting to get out of my truck, shake her and tell her again, "You don't have to do this". I then remembered something that I have learned over the past six years. Many of these folks have layers and layers of issues that have to be peeled back to get to the root of what convinces them that they can't do any better.

So, I just shook my head and did what I normally do and that is give them over to God in prayer and ask Him to give me wisdom to deal with these complex issues.

The Love In Doing Laundry

Traditionally, on Thursday morning, I treat one of our lady's to a breakfast who we met six years ago in a homeless shelter. She has a home now, and cleans the Upreach Center as a part of her ministry. We spend part of our time together during breakfast praying for the food distribution that takes place later in the morning. She brought a friend with her this morning who was homeless at about the same time. She was quite a talker and was going on and on about her washer and dryer she had gotten and what a blessing from God they were that she could get up and do her laundry each day. I thought to myself, "when is she going to stop talking about her laundry and move on to something more important"? Then it hit me. This lady used to haul her laundry to a laundry mat by walking or upon occassion got a ride from a friend.

I do my laundry each Friday morning and dread the fact that I have to gather the laundry basket full of dirty clothes, walk 30 feet to the garage, and put them in a washer and dryer that we have always had. In fact, I don't remember a time in my life that we didn't have at least a washer. When I was very young my mother hung the clothes outside. This lady felt so loved by God, being able to do her laundry without leaving her apartment.

The lesson to me was this. God loves us in the big things and the little things like: roofs over our heads, electric stoves and ovens, furniture, carpet, food, TV's, cars, lamps, beds with electric blankets, clothes and yes, washers and driers.

Thank you Lord for loving me in the little things.