Humbled by Chance

Sunday I was having... personal issues of a spiritual nature.  We'd just finished our study of Francis Chan's Crazy Love in our Sunday morning small group, and we'd discussed at length how to show God's "crazy love" to others.  I have no problem with showing God's love to people; my problem currently is, how do I do more of it?

I want to minister to people.  I want to go out and feed the poor and help clothe the naked.  However, with two children at home with me and a home-based business, how in the world would I find the time to do this?  I don't want to risk my girls' safety, even though I might be perfectly comfortable going into situations of questionable safety.  Yet, I still want to serve others.

Then on Sunday afternoon, I came home and had a direct message on Twitter from a friend, needing to talk over some spiritual concerns she's been having.  We're still working together on those, but the fact of the matter was, it dawned on me that, through Twitter and Facebook, I have ways of ministering to people that others might not have.

In messaging my friend and asking her permission to mention our discussion on my blog, I shared what I'd been feeling angst about.  She replied that she had sensed something had been "off" in me when she messaged me.  Funny part is, no one - not my husband, my best friend or the Twitterverse - knew what was on my mind and in my heart.  I'd also sensed something had been "off" in her, just a vibe I'd picked up in her tweets and Facebook posts in recent days.  Our exchanges - what we said, when we said it - were anointed by the One who knows ALL about us both.

This is for all you ministers out there, both those who are ministers by calling and those who are ministers by simply being Christian.  Let these words encourage you when you're not feeling as if you're doing enough, and pray that God will open up your eyes to see where the opportunities to minister are.  You may have a particular ministry setting that's special to you.

What's your favorite place to minister, and if you have a target audience, who are they?