Thursday was one of those days in Findlay for a lot of people. I awoke around 3 a.m. to the flashes of lightning, rumbles of thunder and the sound of pouring rain. Over the course of the next hour or so I listened to the sound of my sump pump rapidly increase from cycling on and off to running constantly to keep up with the 3-5 inches of rain that our area received in just a few hours.
I’m fortunate in all this mess. We had a trickle of water across our basement floor that was easily managed. The CGGC Offices here in Findlay are fine. Our four CGGC congregations are fine from all reports I’ve received. In fact, one of our congregations, Movement Church, is serving a free lunch downtown today to whomever might need a break from the worry, work and clean up that comes with these all too frequent events in our city. A couple of our staff are dealing with basements with water or flooded streets, but generally speaking, we are all doing well and managing.
The last twenty four hours have not gone the way I had planned. I had other plans for Thursday. This wasn’t on my radar, I did not expect this interruption. I shouldn’t be surprised because of James 4:13-17:
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. |
Moments like this are the worst of times and the best of times. For those dealing with the damage and mess of flood waters, it’s the worst of times. No one wishes this on anyone. I know folks that are made anxious by the sound of rain because they’ve dealt with the mess of rising flood waters too many times. In the midst of the mess, it’s also the best of times because there are beautiful Kingdom breakouts throughout our city as neighbors love and serve their neighbors and walk or wade with them through the flood waters that face them today.
Yesterday was filled with unexpected opportunities to obey Jesus’ command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The day was filled with checking in with folks to see if they needed help or assistance and providing whatever help we could. In a day that was full of unexpected interruptions, there was yet another unexpected interruption to demonstrate God’s love to someone.
I had just returned to the office after taking some time to help one of our staff carry out some of the damaged items from his basement. I fully intended to get to my desk and get back to “work”, but God had other work planned for me (and some others as well). As soon as I entered the foyer I noticed a couple of our staff talking with a man and his young child in the hallway. I soon learned that the gentleman was waiting on his elderly mother who had become ill in the women’s restroom. The two of them had walked about five miles across Findlay to pick up his young daughter earlier in the afternoon and were walking by our office on the way home when she became ill (it was very warm and humid here).
I’m so proud of my fellow co-laborers here at the CGGC: they love God and they love others and they prove it in the way they live their lives. A couple of our staff were tending to the woman who was ill and another was talking to the woman’s son while he waited for her in the hallway. When we learned that they had walked about 7.5 miles in the heat and had another 2.5 miles to go, we quickly offered a ride to help them get home and out of the heat.
I had the privilege of going with one of our team members to take this family to their home. When we dropped them off, we offered prayer for healing and they welcomed our prayer. It was a small and simple act of kindness, but I believe we cleaned up a mess and offered a ride in Jesus name.
This is the work of the Gospel. This is where we put our faith into action and put the Father’s Glory on display. It’s in these simple acts of obedience that we do the work that the Father has called us to do for the good of others and to His Glory.
We’ve been blessed to be a blessing. In the midst of a bad day God opened up opportunities to be a blessing to others.
The next time you’re having a day that doesn’t go quite the way you had planned, I’d encourage you to listen closely to the Father. It just may be that he has more important work for you to accomplish that day.
Christ’s Peace,
Lance