A Listening Ear
Just recently COI led a team in New Orleans where my husband and I had the privilege of spending this past summer. As I read the blog post that Mary Alice wrote and listened to the updates I was reminded of all the people that we met in need of not only provision for practical physical needs, but the needs people have for spiritual and emotional healing.
This summer I was pregnant with our first child, so I missed out on the many opportunities to go into the damaged homes of New Orleans and gut them out. Instead every week I took small groups out to different parts of the city to help local churches distribute necessities to people who were in need. Things like a drink of cold water, a roll of toilet paper or can of Vienna sausages were received gratefully in neighborhoods where the closest Walgreens was a ten minute drive, I don't even know where the closest grocery store would have been. As we passed these things out we were told over and over that this was not only a distribution ministry, but a listening ministry. The Deacon that we worked with constantly encouraged us to carry the bag of items to the person's car giving an opportunity to open up conversation. Often times you didn't have to say much more than "how much water did you have in your home" before the stories came out. I knew in my head that people needed to talk, to know that people cared but during those hours in the hot sun it went to my heart that just as much as they needed that bottle of cold water, they needed to be listened to and prayed for.
So I have been thinking about all of this again the last couple of days. And I have been praying for people not to forget about New Orleans and what happened there and in the Gulf Coast, but to come and lend a listening ear and a helping hand to God's children there who need it. Then God reminded me of something. Its not just in New Orleans and the Gulf that He needs us to be His hands and feet. People everywhere have a story to tell, people everywhere need a hug, a prayer, a listening ear. People everywhere need to know the love and healing touch of Jesus.
If God has laid it on your heart to go somewhere and serve Him, I pray you will follow where He is leading you. I promise He will provide your needs, and you won't be sorry that you chose to serve Him. Another lesson that I learned from New Orleans is cars, houses, furniture, toys, clothes…things… they can all be gone in a blink of an eye. None of it is eternal. But people are eternal…If you allow the Holy Spirit to use you in someones life, and then you see that person in heaven, what a way to spend your time, money, and energy. We are all called to live for eternity, and to be Jesus' hands and feet to His world. If God is calling you to go, don't hesitate to follow.
