Bearing Burdens

I wanted to tell you a little story today, because it encouraged my heart, and I'm guessing your heart might need a boost too!

Some of you might know that our church has been without a senior pastor for almost a year and a half now. God has been so gracious to us and the minister who has been filling in for all that span of time has thrown himself into the work heart and soul, even though it's just temporary. (Temporary, I realize, is a relative term when it starts to span a year and a half!) 

The church has been praying and looking...and looking and praying...and, well, you get the idea. 

A few groups have formed to meet regularly at the church throughout the week for times of prayer for this future pastor, and this week, I heard the most encouraging story about one of those prayer times.

Remember when I told you that Dino the piano player did a concert at our church a couple of weeks ago? Many of the people who came to that concert were from the community, and some of them saw the signs hanging in the church inviting people to the prayer times.

Last week, a group of pastors (current and retired) from our community showed up at the church to pray over us and to pray with those who came to that particular meeting. They said they had been praying for us in our transition, but they wanted to pray WITH us and let us know that they cared about us and the ministry we have in our city. They affirmed that we do have a valuable ministry in our city that is unique to us, and they wanted to support us in that. 

I. Loved. That.

We all have a hundred things on our prayer plates that matter to us, right? Things that are good and big and important and worthy of our focus. But what a huge impact we can make when put our own agendas on pause and look at the needs of the people next to us and let them know we see what matters to them!

I wasn't at that meeting and I don't know who any of those pastors are (by name) but I can tell you that my faith was encouraged to know that they took time to show up and care about our future. They could have taken that time to further their own ministry agendas with their churches, but they recognized it's not about this church or that, but about THE church. And when one part has a need, every part feels it.  

Burden bearing: possibly a little too much of a lost art, but oh my. What a blessing it can be when it happens!