Yesterday was our final Emmaus team meeting before the Walk. Lori told a story during chapel devotions about a little 5-year-old girl whose parents did not know anyone and did not go to church. Her neighbor came to offer to take her to Sunday School one morning, and after a while reached her parents, too. The neighbor was a Sunday School Teacher as well as the Superintendant, and the little girl who was lead to Jesus by this wonderful lady was Lori. I couldn't help but think of Hope in place of the little girl in this story, and myself as the teacher.
After devotions, we continued with the meeting. Melissa previewed her talk today on the "Body of Christ." Some of the notes I took today include:
* Clarification may come only after the work/journey has begun.
* A Work of Heart (a book title)
* Action will come when people of all colors work together.
* Stay at the Lord's table to be a part of the healing love. Don't leave when things get bad (Jesus didn't leave the Last Supper when doubted).
* Romans 12:3-8
- 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to hisa]">[a]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
* Matthew 28:19
- 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them ina]">[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
* Saying yes when all logic says no.
* Matthew 25:40 - Whatever you did to the least of these, you did to me.
* Share with spiritual leaders at your church.
After taking these notes, as Melissa was finishing up, I put stars next to four of the ones I could see He was telling me to specifically pay attention to: 1) God is using your gifts and experiences to affect others' lives; 2) Live in relationship to each other, modelling our relationship to Him; 3) Say yes when all logic says no; and 4) Share with your spiritual leaders in church.
1) God is using your gifts and experiences to affect others' lives. Pretty obvious - I am already a trusted adult to Hope, and hopefully also to her parents. I have experience and gifts in loving children, and I have good support to back me up, which I will speak more of in a little bit.
2) Live in relationship to each other, modelling our relationship to Him. The only way I can be a model to this family is to become a part of their daily lives, and to make them a part of mine. And I need to pray for Hope and her family. As well as with them, hopefully.
3) Say yes when all logic says no, and 4) Share with your spiritual leaders. This one was huge for me, then became absolutely immense. First of all, I put off all week calling because "logic" said "don't offer to provide care, and then bail on them," since I will not be available much of the next three weeks. But when I heard to say yes anyway and talk to my spiritual leader about it, I just had to follow through (besides, at lunchtime, just after Melissa's talk, my heart began to be pulled out of my chest again!). Enter one of the most respected friends of my life - "Miss Eileen." She had to leave our Emmaus meeting early for a family function, but I asked her if we could meet after she got back. She said she would call on her way home. It turned out that they returned late at night, too late to call, so we met on Sunday after church. I told her all about this precious little girl, the background issues we could be getting involved with, and my trepidations about my schedule. Her immediate response was with suggestions for help during these times - herself, the girls, and another good friend to begin with. She said, "We're doing this." Obviously, He was whacking me with a 2x4 this weekend, telling me what I needed to do!
I went home, and hopped on the computer to continue looking up stuff for school next year, which is an enjoyable pastime for me. But this time, I couldn't concentrate. And to top if off, Aidan turned on the TV. I decided I needed to go somewhere quiet to journal, so I drove to McDonald's for a drink first (we were out of pop at home). During the drive, He helped me realize something that had transpired during the school year to which I was oblivious at the time. A concerning issue was absent during the time when the family's truck was broken down and one parent was living with a grandparent (I don't know if Hope was with this parent or with the one still at home at the time). How could I have missed that?
I brought my drink home and pulled out my journal. As I started writing about Melissa's talk, I got out my notes. Checking through them, I now realized that every note I wrote down applied to this situation!
5) Clarification may come only after the work or journey has begun. I really don't know what is to come of this relationship, and won't until I am involved with this family. I only know that He will clarify this for me at the right time.
6) A Work of Heart. This was the name of a book Melissa mentioned, which I will read. But I can already tell this journey, this relationship, is definitely going to be a work of heart!
7) Action will come when people of all colors work together. At first I thought, "I really don't know any people of color (skin-wise) who would be involved, but OK, Lord." Now I realize that He does not mean skin-color, but people at different places in their spiritual walk. This journey has already touched myself (somewhere near the middle of my walk), and Miss Eileen (much further than I in her walk), and could potentially touch many just starting out on their own walk.
8) Stay at the table to be a part of His healing love - don't leave when things get bad. And they will get bad. But the healing and love and growth in the end will be worth it all.
9) Romans 12:3-8, Matthew 28:19. Each of us involved is here for a reason - to offer our individual spiritual gifts to perpetuate His mission for us and this precious little girl.
Heavenly Father, I do not have the words to begin this conversation with this family, but You do. I know that You will be with me during this visit, and that You will provide the words for me. I love that You will be with me in the face of rejection, as well as in the face of love. Please envelope little Hope, her family, and myself as we journey together. In Your Holy Name, Amen.
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