Stretch

Last week I had the opportunity to meet a group of folks that wished they would never have had the opportunity to meet me...under those circumstances.

I met a group of kids that could tell me things that they had experienced but didn't fully understand. I met a group of women that had experienced things that wished they never had to explain those same things to those kids. From there, I'm not going to try and assume the mindset of a woman that is living in a support home for battered women.

Our MC has chosen to make an effort to stretch itself. There are many ways that we could do this...intellectually, emotionally, financially, spiritually, etc... One of these efforts is to volunteer one afternoon a week @ a battered women's shelter by providing a tutoring program to the children there. I think a "mentoring" program is a much better description of what we are providing.

The kids that were present when I was there ranged in age from 3-16. I'm not going to provide names even though I know that first names are ok to use. I spent the majority of my time w/ one the cutest 3-yr olds you'll ever meet. His demeanor was calm inquisition. He was quite disappointed in my efforts to put together a 100-piece Spider-man puzzle--trust me, so was I. He caught a glimpse of a baseball glove & ball & wanted to know what it was--was it the first time he had ever seen baseball equipment before? It was obvious that he had never played before, but, after we went outside to play, he looked like a natural...as natural as a 3-yr old can look. Will he ever have a positive, adult male influence in his life? Am I the only one he'll have for years to come? What about the influence we're having on the women that are residents of the shelter? What about the workers @ the shelter?

Will they know that Christ loves them? How will they know?

Jesus says that we are to serve. Will these people know that we are doing what Christ commanded us? I don't know. That's not the important part. The purpose is to serve.

Are we stretching ourselves? I think you'd have to ask that to each individual. I'm not being stretched from a time perspective. I'm being stretched emotionally. My love is being stretched. How much of a difference would it make for an adult male to shake hands or hug one of these kids...kids that have been conditioned to tread lightly when around the male influence in their home--the same male influence that triggered the series of events that culminated w/ me meeting them last week?

Many of these families are transient. We are a snapshot-in-time of their lives, an hour & a half. Can I make a difference? Me, no. Me working w/ the Holy Spirit, absolutely. Character is developed over a period of time & life experiences. I need to realize that I am filling a need that I may not see just by being there. Some of these kids will forget me the next day or the next 10 minutes.

Doing the right thing is good. Doing it persistently is dedication. Doing it out of love is of Christ.

Our group can do more to serve. Are we ready as a group? I don't know. Individually, some are.

I know that serving even when I don't see results or results that I expect that I'm still doing what Christ has instructed me to do.

Sometimes the action comes before my heart is ready--that's discipline.

Sometimes the action comes because my heart is ready--that's love.