ministry

Random Acts of WHAT??

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We’ve all heard of random acts of kindness, in particular when someone in the front of a fast food line pays for the person behind them, and next for the person behind them, etc.  There have even been reports of these acts reaching 50 or more in some lines.  And it’s a lot of fun and a blessing for everyone involved.

HOWEVER.  The other day at work, when I was working the drive through, the customer at my window paid his bill, got his food, and was about to drive off, when he stopped and said, “You know, I want to pay for the person behind me.”  I asked if he knew him, and he said no, he just wanted to do it.  I took his second payment and he drove off happy.  The next customer pulled up, and boy….he was in a big truck, had a hat, dog, and gun, and was very big and rough and tumble looking.  He handed me his card and I told him he didn’t have to pay because the person ahead of him paid for his food.  He scowled at me while leaving his card stretched out and said, “WHY????”  I was taken back because of his response but I managed to stammer out because God loved him, and the customer and I wanted him to know that.  He still had his card out, and said, “that’s ridiculous”, took his food, and drove off without even a thank you!

I thought about that encounter for the rest of the day, and was reminded of what the REAL reason for those acts SHOULD be.  Usually when we think about that kind of giving, we picture grateful people overjoyed with the blessing, renewed with hope, desperate and on their last dime, etc.  And those are all great endings, but they don’t always happen, and we usually don’t hear about them if they don’t.

Which leads to this…sometimes we have a very rosy and distorted picture of what doing ministry looks like.  We hear “success” stories often in the ministry, about great rallies, great attendance, great worship, great everything.  And sometimes we get caught up in thinking that if it doesn’t end up “great” then we failed – or the event failed – or God just didn’t show up and work like we thought He would.  And that’s totally not true!  My first customer did what he felt led to do – even though it was at the last minute – and I believe God will use that.  It’s not his fault, or God’s, that the other person reacted the way he did – it just happened.  But it didn’t make the act any less special, or less fruitful..and if he ever finds out what did happen,

So when you are facing a “thankless” situation, or feel like you’re not being used, or get a bad reaction when doing good, please remember this customer…and keep on “paying” for the person behind you, and doing what God tells you!  Because sometimes, in GOD’s timing, we do make an impact…and GOD is in control of the results!

I Can Serve You Here

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imageWhen customers enter our ChickFilA, they are greeted and then we add, “I can serve you here” to indicate that our register is open.  As I take orders, fill drinks,and chat the conversation is surface stuff.  In a small city like ours, it is easy to assume that our customers live and/or work in our community, have ordinary lives with ordinary circumstances, and move on.  But when I really have time to listen, it is amazing what I hear.  Just today I served a woman and her daughter on their way to see the other daughter, who was having a baby and having complications, several teenagers who were stressing about their standardized tests today, a young man who was having a big job interview, and an 8 year old who is still in 1st grade because “I got held back”.  There was also a newly single mom whose husband just walked out on her, and a new mom of a new doctor in town who is still feeling lonely and missing her family back home terribly. All of these needed food, but they also needed a human touch and a listening ear.

I came away from today SO wishing that we had at least one “register” at every church where someone was standing there saying, “I can serve you here!”  When we go to church week after week, and see so many of the same people, it is very hard to stop and really listen to what is going on with each other.  We make a lot of assumptions about other people’s lives based on what we are experiencing, and in doing that we miss a lot of opportunities to connect with each other and minister.  And that is also, unfortunately, when we are the least like Jesus. He made it a point to look beyond the surface, and to meet the deepest needs of those He met. I want to be like that.  As the quote above says, I am one – and there is a lot that I can do to help those around me.  May we all begin to make that our goal!

Toast and Jam

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I am not really a toast kind of girl.  Being Southern, and having women in my family who could make mouth-watering biscuits, I much prefer those. My waistline, however, made the determination years ago that toast is my breakfast bread, and I have learned to live with it.

Eating toast at home, I stick to no butter, and only jelly/jam.  A few days ago I was dismayed to find my jelly jar almost empty, and my toast was hot and waiting.  I scraped out what I could, and smeared it on.  The result?  Awful! Toast with just enough jam to barely taste is offensive.  The hint of flavor makes you frustrated, and longing for more.  And I learned something…things spread too thin are useless.  The toast would have been better without it.

I believe God used this to remind me of something I desperately needed to hear right now.  PEOPLE spread too thin are also not doing a whole lot of good…and sometimes it can even been offensive!  There are some things that contribute to this that we have no control over – work hours, family, etc.  But in my case, and I suspect I am not alone, there are things that I CAN control.  Many times, I am guilty of overcommitting my own time, without any help from anyone else.  I love to do ministry, and saying no is hard for me even when I have no real time for anything else.  I love to write and yet I find myself not writing nearly as much as I thought I would because I am usually busy doing something else.

I have been guilty too many times of trying to do too much, and as the saying goes, not doing any of them too well. I have given people/ministries/my family the equivalent of my toast, and that’s not good. I have left them frustrated, and longing for more – of my efforts, or just more of me. My prayer is that God will “show” me a piece of toast every time I am tempted to overcommit myself, and that I will immediately stop!