Day #903

June 21, 2016

I read a blog entry by Keith Anderson that resonated with me - "The Most Important Ministry Advice I Ever Received." What do you think it might have been:

• Read the Bible daily? Good advice, but that’s not it.
• Pray all the time? Also good advice, but that’s not it.
• Always be willing to listen more than talk? Again, good advice, but that’s not exactly it.
• Hmm...getting tougher? How about remember to care for yourself and your family/friends? Certainly good advice, but again, not it.

No, he writes that the most important advice he ever received was - be there! That even when there is something totally out of his comfort zone (death, particularly), be there. Show up. And he writes this:

There are no perfect words, there is no perfect timing, or prayer, or sermon, or anything else. When everything is stripped away, what we have is our shared and broken humanity. All we have is each other and God. And that always turns out to be enough.

Yes, somehow, it does seem to turn out to be enough. Because I have found that when I take myself out of the way, God shines through amazingly.

Today I was honored to “be there” for a family, and I am humbled and grateful. God’s peace surround you and hold you in these days.

Blessings.