Sunday, October 6, 2013

Day 36: A Sabbath Celebration


This 90-Day 'Love Your Neighbor' Adventure has a weekly rhythm to it:
  1. Five days of devotionals in which you invite God speak to you through selected Scriptures
  2. A prayer challenge in which you invite God to push you out of your comfort zone
  3. A Sabbath rest to reflect on how God has spoken to you and through you during the week
Today I want to share with you my own adventure. On Friday, a woman came to the church where I am interim pastor to see if we would be able to help her.  She said she and her three children had been staying with a friend, but would have to leave soon because the friend's daughter was coming home to live with her.
 
As the woman told me her story, I realized her path to homelessness was both common and unique. She had been laid off from a good job a year ago when she was pregnant and had not been able to find full-time work since. She was supporting her children on food stamps and what she received from part-time work cleaning homes. She had been unable to find affordable housing, a task made difficult both by her work history and by the need for a sizable security deposit.
 
When I asked about the father of her children, she told me the father of the two older ones had abandoned them and the father of her infant was unable to work yet following injuries received a year ago in a car accident that nearly cost him his life.
 
When I asked about her faith background, she said neither she nor her fiancé had been to church in a long time. She said they would both like to be part of a church, but was particularly concerned whether her heavily-tattooed fiancé would ever be accepted.
 
As I listened to this story, I felt God clearly telling me this was not a random meeting, but someone He was bringing into my life. After talking things over with Linnea, we decided to invite this family to come and live with us for a while. (We also decided to give them a wedding, but that will be a story for another day.)
 
There are three things that have convinced me God's presence permeates this situation:
  1. I am filled with peace and joy, sensing clearly that we are privileged, not obligated, to be part of what God wants to do in the lives of this family
  2. Everything God has been teaching me about looking past outward appearances to see His image in people has let my heart be touched deeply
  3. The devotional I was working on minutes before this woman walked into my office was based on Matthew 25:37-40. What does it say? "I was a stranger, and you invited me in."
Is God working in your life? Write down your experiences in the space provided below or share them with me  at dnich1803@gmail.com.

 

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