Things I Learned This Past Week:
I’ve always had this notion that the best prayer can happen at church. I know it’s not necessarily true. But my dad goes to church to pray a lot. In Hawaii, we held prayer meetings at church every week. So, I guess more than a notion, I had a habit of praying at church.
Well, I was again reminded that prayer can happen anywhere. We had a wonderful thanksgiving meal with the people at my wife’s interfaith shelter. I volunteered to do the dishes. Had I known how many stuff there was to wash, I may have volunteered for something else.
So, I’m in the middle of doing these dishes, and I found myself not wanting to do them anymore. Especially since the big stuff haven’t been washed yet. To make the time pass, I decided that each plate, each utensil, each item that needed to be washed would represent a sin or a mistake that I have made. And as I washed all the gunk off of each item, I prayed that God will do the same with my heart. It was the best dish washing experience ever.
Something God has challenged me with:
I had a feeling that maybe having the Saturday service after Thanksgiving wasn’t such a good idea with people traveling and being with family.
Turns out, it wasn’t.
Only one person showed up. Well, another showed up real late.
We had a real good conversation.
I went to meet up with my wife after the service(she works at the shelter on Saturday evenings, and we’re trying to find out a way for her to change shifts so she can join us in worship). She asked I was disheartened, or disappointed with what happened. And, honestly, a year ago, I think I would’ve been devastated and would react in trying something real big to get the service in minds of our members and community. But, I was fine. I was happy. And after the two left, I stayed behind and worshiped a little on my own before heading out. I think we’re still doing fine. God’s in control. And whether we have 2, 5, 15 or 50, God’s still in the midst of us. And that’s all I need to know to move forward.
