I led the summer service at my church yesterday. My meditation about gratitude went well, but for me the highlight of the service was Joys and Concerns. It is always a heartfelt time; we pour our hearts out to one another and to God as a community of faith. Joys and Concerns is what holds us together in love.
Yesterday, in keeping with my topic, people expressed gratitude as they shared their joys and concerns. The most poignant moment came when a stranger asked for prayers for a friend who had tried to take her life. Who was this man? No one knows. Our church is off the beaten track; people don’t wander by, so people don’t’ wander in. But there he was, hearing my message that we can find gratitude in the midst of pain, hearing the prayer requests of others, and then, as a stranger, hearing that he was welcome to lift up his particular prayer.
Yesterday, in keeping with my topic, people expressed gratitude as they shared their joys and concerns. The most poignant moment came when a stranger asked for prayers for a friend who had tried to take her life. Who was this man? No one knows. Our church is off the beaten track; people don’t wander by, so people don’t’ wander in. But there he was, hearing my message that we can find gratitude in the midst of pain, hearing the prayer requests of others, and then, as a stranger, hearing that he was welcome to lift up his particular prayer.
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