Opportunities Disguised as Interruptions
A couple of weeks ago, Rita, Kyle, and I donated blood as part of the Bloodworks NW blood drive. It was exciting to see our ministry center transformed into a pop-up donation center and filled with people from the community giving this precious, life-saving resource. There was a wonderful sense of being part of a worthy cause as people from all walks of life are stepping up to care for others. The blood drive has been so successful that BNW has asked to extend the drive for several more weeks. This current crisis has galvanized our community to do what we can to care for others and giving blood can literally save another person’s life.
Our youth just completed a virtual 5K and raised $1,500 to support Jubilee Reach. Pastor Micah and Pastor DeWayne ran together (I think this was a safety precaution since PMC knows CPR!). Our church family also stepped up in a big way to help provide groceries for Jubilee’s grocery drive, that is now serving over 500 families every week! Giving and generosity are reflections of spiritual health. Walking in the footsteps of Jesus means looking out for the needs of others, especially when our natural response is to be consumed with our own safety and welfare. Jesus told the story of a man who went out of his way to care for someone from another race who had been assaulted, robbed, and left for dead. Two fellow countrymen came across this beaten man but scurried around him, no doubt convinced they had more important things to attend to. To them, this man was an unwelcome interruption in a busy schedule.
While some have more margin in their daily routines, our tech heavy, recently enlisted home-schooling church family may feel busier than ever. To be busy and still seek to minister to others requires a shift in perspective. The needs of others are no longer seen as interruptions that keep us from our to do list, but as opportunities to do what we are called to do - walk as Jesus walked and love as Jesus loved. Crisis has a way of sharpening our priorities and lifting that which is most important to the surface. Our prayers become more specific and urgent. Our sense that life is fragile becomes more acute. While it’s possible we are living in the ‘last days’ the best way we can be ready for the Lord’s return is to be about His business, and responding to the “interruptions” that come our way with thoughtful and prayerful action.
Our youth just completed a virtual 5K and raised $1,500 to support Jubilee Reach. Pastor Micah and Pastor DeWayne ran together (I think this was a safety precaution since PMC knows CPR!). Our church family also stepped up in a big way to help provide groceries for Jubilee’s grocery drive, that is now serving over 500 families every week! Giving and generosity are reflections of spiritual health. Walking in the footsteps of Jesus means looking out for the needs of others, especially when our natural response is to be consumed with our own safety and welfare. Jesus told the story of a man who went out of his way to care for someone from another race who had been assaulted, robbed, and left for dead. Two fellow countrymen came across this beaten man but scurried around him, no doubt convinced they had more important things to attend to. To them, this man was an unwelcome interruption in a busy schedule.
While some have more margin in their daily routines, our tech heavy, recently enlisted home-schooling church family may feel busier than ever. To be busy and still seek to minister to others requires a shift in perspective. The needs of others are no longer seen as interruptions that keep us from our to do list, but as opportunities to do what we are called to do - walk as Jesus walked and love as Jesus loved. Crisis has a way of sharpening our priorities and lifting that which is most important to the surface. Our prayers become more specific and urgent. Our sense that life is fragile becomes more acute. While it’s possible we are living in the ‘last days’ the best way we can be ready for the Lord’s return is to be about His business, and responding to the “interruptions” that come our way with thoughtful and prayerful action.
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