Housecleanings, Weddings, a Funeral and Sump Pumps
Ministry is unique. Your task list and activities Monday to Saturday can look different any given day. If you ask us today what we do, today we might say we’re counselors, and tomorrow we might tell you we’re outreach coordinators. Both are true!
In the past two weeks, we’ve attended two weddings and a funeral, cleaned our new women’s house top to bottom (along with a dedicated crew of loving volunteers..!), vacuumed up two flooded basements, and installed two new sump pumps.
If you told us two decades ago that this is what ministry life would be like today, we might have laughed at you. Alas, we recognize that the calling of God is not always glamorous (if ever) and definitely challenging at times, but in the end, it’s well worth it.
As we reflect on these happenings, we realize the mysterious part of the ministry is the dichotomous nature of the celebration. Two weeks ago, we celebrated life in Christ with the marriage of a man who has battled life’s strongholds. And the next morning, we celebrated the eternal promise of life in Christ for a man who, too, battled life’s strongholds.
Some would argue the first won and the second lost. But that’s not the Gospel. Jesus makes us all victorious. That even in death or life, the victory belongs to Jesus! To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord in eternity.
Perhaps this is the one ministry lesson that hits the deepest.
We love what we do and are blessed by it. But along with it comes the deep reality of loss. It’s messy! We take solace in knowing that our job is to point people toward Jesus and eternity.
None of us get to write the end of our story; that’s God’s job. We simply live and love like Jesus and share the wonderful testimony of what he has done in our lives while meeting people at the point of their needs.
As you think of us this week, please pray for the following:
Wednesday, we have our inspection to receive the certificate of occupancy for The Resting Place.
Next week, we’re hosting a painting night at a local art studio as part of our recovery community outreach event series.
The men currently residing in our Hope Houses, and the individuals we meet with throughout the week in counseling and at the correctional facility.