Years for one moment...

The past three years have been filled with all the trappings one would expect from an apostolic ministry. There have been sleepless nights, danger from violent accusers, multiple trips to the local jail, thanklessness and hatred, outright betrayals, being excluded and frowned upon... The list goes on and on. Of course no one would be able to continue in these conditions unless there was some reward.

The scripturally correct answer in this case is that we endure but for the hope that is set before us, life eternal and the unfadeable crown of glory in reigning with Christ, blah blah blah.... Yes this is absolutely true, however, anyone who has walked the walk knows perfectly well how quickly the spirit is drained to the point of making ones self utterly useless in regards to spreading any kind of uplifting message. The "meat" of the word here comes from first of all the supernatural infusions of holy spirit our God gracefully imbues those particularly tenacious people who, although they may lay down to rest for days at a time, (even months) continue to rise and rise again to the work of the kingdom. This is all well and good but even these can go through a dry spell. The fewer and farther between "miracle" here is the rare kind word of appreciation.

It is easy between the noise of scorn and ridicule to tune yourself out to the majority of what is being said about you or around you. In fact at this point, 42 years of age, a lifetime in the making of this ministry, the unmistakable voice of the lord has to be speaking or I will hardly acknowledge anything at all. What he does give amidst all this clamor, that is such an uplifting experience that it is worth an entire blog post, is someone who remembers you, and what sort of positive impact your work had on their life.

Case in point. Today, as I am eating at the local food ministry for the homeless, which I do every day, a woman comes up to tell me that one winter years ago I had been walking down the street and her car was stuck in the snow and that I pushed her out. She described the event as though I were her guardian angel that day who saved her from certain calamity. I dont even remember the event. I do stuff like that almost on a daily basis, but to hear the joy that it gave her was like fresh cool water after a lifetime in the desert.

My cross suddenly became again as light as a feather, and all the years of ministry prior to that one moment of thanks and praise was lived entirely to experience it for myself. To God alone belongs all the glory and all the credit and all of the guardianship of angels. To me belongs only God Himself, who alone knows when, where, and how, to restore the vitality and drive of His servants. So if you are reading this, remember, hang on, someone already knows you as a lifesaver and your reward is coming on the wings of the wind...