Friday, December 17, 2004

Ruth, Ramon, and other folks who are looking for help...

Today has been a living reminder to me that discipleship is about people - first and foremost - and only afterwards about schedules, sermons and paperwork. I started my day by visiting some elderly ladies at a nursing home. They were sitting in the lobby, as usual, watching the day unfold outside the large glass front of their world. When I arrived they were ready to talk, and we spent about 40 minutes talking about everything under the sun. I was particularly struck by "Miss Ruth" who is 91 years old and quite a pistol. She was fussing that "Arthur" was really giving her a hard time today. I laughed out loud when it occurred to me that "Arthur" was the pet name she gave to the crippling arthritis that she lives with daily. How I wished that I could wave my arms and make her arthritis disappear. By the time I left them, however, I understood that I gave "Miss Ruth" and the others something more important that relief from arthritis, I gave them time and concern. They reminded me to bring Dima to see them next week, and I promised I would. Now they are anticipating the time they will spend with us next week...

When I got to the office following that visit, I was hoping to "lock myself in" and get the demanding work done that is sitting on my desk. Just when I got settled in and ready to work, I was paged to the main office. There I met Ramon, who speaks little English, although he understands it pretty well. With a great deal of "Span-glish" he explained that his car was broken down and he needed help getting it fixed. I went out and looked around at the car, and after several minutes discovered the problem - a broken hose on the radiator system. So we went to a parts house and got some parts to fix the hose, and replace his thermostat. On the way back he explained to me that even though he does not know anyone in Panama City, he knew that he get the help he needed at the church. Even now he is in the parking lot finishing the work on his car (I helped for a while, but he soon realized that preachers are not much help past getting the necessary parts!), and I am so thankful that Ramon had enough good experience with God's people somewhere that he knew to come to us for help.

My work will get done, despite the interruptions, but it occurs to me that it is quite possibly the "interruptions" that were my real work today anyway. What do you think? Are you looking for God's interruptions in your life? That is the cutting edge of ministry in the name of Jesus!

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