So many things change as one grows older. Some are expected, others are not. Many changes are a challenge to deal with.
I have had a challenge dealing with changes in ministry. As a Christian I believe that I should be using my time and abilities to serve the Lord. But sometimes these opportunities change. For most of my years I could minister with music, with leadership, with teaching, with dealing with finances, and other similar situations.
But time eliminated many of these opportunities. The biggest challenges came when physical problems prevented me from going to church or even visiting anybody. This has been a challenge and hard to deal with.
I've asked the Lord for new opportunities. He first reminded me of my two weekly blogs where I have unique opportunities to share with folks around the world. He then reminded me of my leadership on our church prayer chain where I get to share prayer requests and answers daily.
But then he provided me with a new opportunity which I now realize is a new ministry. Last year my wife was asked to become a pen pal with a youngster in the Lancaster school District. So, each month she corresponded with this young lady and shared with her.
This year I was also asked to participate and I was assigned a fourth grader from a city school. Now I don't know much about city fourth graders, especially girls. But I am learning. My pen pal is an African-American young lady who came to Lancaster from New York.
I've observed that there doesn't seem to be any men in her life. Everything she talks about is with her mother or grandmother. She enjoys computer games and television.
But what concerns me most is the apparent lack of any Christian influence in her life. References to Christmas and Easter showed no understanding of their meaning. This is what showed me that this is a real ministry for me – one that I never expected. I am praying that somehow the Lord will grant me the words to share with her that might lead her sometime to Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment