"Ministry" has been on my mind. Not ministry in terms of..."we're in full-time (vocational) ministry"...not even "what is MY ministry". None of those things. I've just simply been thinking about the word itself. I throw it around so loosely that I fear I have lost the actual meaning of it. Is it goodwill? Is it a strong affection for someone? Is it risking your life for someone? Is it giving to the poor? Is it being a part of a Bible translation organization?
So here's the reason it's on my mind. A week and a half ago I feel like I was ministered to in the purest sense of the word (or at least in my understanding of it).
Our family has come out of a wonderful stretch of having many people into our home over the last month and a half or so. One particular set of guests came and went so quietly but left such a deep impression on my heart and spirit that I can't seem to get this word out of my head.
Never can I remember a time when someone (besides my husband) confronted a heart issue so head-on that it made me want to weep so immediately. During our short time together (only one full day), my friend observed something in my life that, while having the appearance of servitude, was really not glorifying to the Lord, but instead it was something that quietly kept me in bondage. She never judged me, never looked down on me, but rather at just the right time brought light to what was really going on in my heart. She was genuinely so concerned about my relationship with God that she was not afraid to speak bluntly and unveil an attitude of bondage that I've quietly been harboring in my heart for who knows how many years. God used her to minister to my heart and I am closer to the Lord as a result of my time spent with her.
I know that ministry can look so different in any given situation, but my dear friend's ministry to me resounded so deeply in my mind and heart that no other word would do this particular encounter justice.
Not only am I thankful for her, but even more so I am thankful for a God Who loves me so much that He'll use one of His own children to audibly say something I've been needing to hear for a long time.
To borrow from a familiar song, "He loves us. Oh, how He loves us."
So here's the reason it's on my mind. A week and a half ago I feel like I was ministered to in the purest sense of the word (or at least in my understanding of it).
Our family has come out of a wonderful stretch of having many people into our home over the last month and a half or so. One particular set of guests came and went so quietly but left such a deep impression on my heart and spirit that I can't seem to get this word out of my head.
Never can I remember a time when someone (besides my husband) confronted a heart issue so head-on that it made me want to weep so immediately. During our short time together (only one full day), my friend observed something in my life that, while having the appearance of servitude, was really not glorifying to the Lord, but instead it was something that quietly kept me in bondage. She never judged me, never looked down on me, but rather at just the right time brought light to what was really going on in my heart. She was genuinely so concerned about my relationship with God that she was not afraid to speak bluntly and unveil an attitude of bondage that I've quietly been harboring in my heart for who knows how many years. God used her to minister to my heart and I am closer to the Lord as a result of my time spent with her.
I know that ministry can look so different in any given situation, but my dear friend's ministry to me resounded so deeply in my mind and heart that no other word would do this particular encounter justice.
Not only am I thankful for her, but even more so I am thankful for a God Who loves me so much that He'll use one of His own children to audibly say something I've been needing to hear for a long time.
To borrow from a familiar song, "He loves us. Oh, how He loves us."
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