Our daughter jumped up to tap the Happy Birthday banner hanging in the doorway, not expecting to reach it.
But when her hand smacked a T, the plastic letters clapped and shimmied, sending a smile across her face like a sudden sunrise.
She danced and squealed, I grew! I finally grew!
She’d been growing all along, every day, but she measured herself against her taller older sister, who has been growing too.
~
I’m often privileged to company with some of the most hospitable, selfless women you’ll ever meet, but occasionally and shockingly, every now and then one of them will say, I keep searching for a ministry. I feel like I’m not doing anything worthwhile.
I never know what to say back, because it’s like hearing the sky say, I’m so plain.
These are women layered with compassion and creativity, generation-shapers who are intentional with every life they touch.
They walk in The Way of Jesus so naturally, they’ve begun to take for granted that He’s not just part of their life; He is their life.
Many of them are so eyeball deep in keeping their own families from fraying, they’ve lost sight of the beautiful effect they have on the people within their reach.
These women (and men) are like the white blood cells of our world. Their very presence heals.
They’re the conversation-savers, peacemakers.
They’re the kind of people who dry their hands in the restroom and swipe over the counter, always leaving a place better than they found it.
No one sees these things but God, they think, but the rest of us do see.
We see them push in chairs, and quietly entertain children, and begin the clean-up while everyone else is leaving.
They are homeroom moms, the reason snacks somehow always appear in the breakroom at work, and the reason the display window changes with the seasons.
They have timely wisdom to share while chatting in line with strangers.
They deliver food to people they barely know.
They volunteer to fill in.
They listen without interrupting.
They show up.
~
But when I ask them what they mean by ministry, they name things like teaching a Bible study, starting something new, or being like so-and-so, all very vague and uncomfortable, laced with frustration.
Ministry isn’t born out of frustration; it’s born in love.
When you feel the happiest, what are you doing? is the question I ask them, and their answers are so lovely.
They describe behind-the-scenes work, skilled things few people can or are willing to do.
They describe relationships.
Sadly, many of their sentences sound like this: I just like to…
Just…The tiny assassin word that hisses a little, dismissing everything after it.
~
The word ministry is jargon for what comes in a neat box, usually with a title.
But ministry isn’t something you do. It’s who you are.
My brother works tirelessly to help relieve the homeless condition in his city, all while prioritizing his family, working a demanding full-time job that requires travel, and being active in a Christian community group.
He and a team of his friends traveled to Texas to stay with a formerly homeless community for a few days to learn from their successes.
Sometimes I get up under the feeling I should be doing more when I compare myself with my brother’s ministries, but I’m not him.
What flows naturally out of him and brings him tremendous joy would be terribly unnatural for me because that’s not who I am. I partner with him in other ways, but it looks very different than what he does.
~
Have you ever said to yourself, I’m not doing anything for the Lord?
If, when you say those words, you’re referring to the God who created the Universe with music and light for the sheer joy of it, may I remind you, He doesn’t need a thing from you.
Not one thing.
But the world does. The world needs more people like you, people who go about their business just paying attention until a moment offers itself to you, ripe with what you’re good at, what you enjoy doing.
It may be completely different every day, but isn’t that more fun?
The invitation of walking with God’s Spirit is not to pursue ministry, but to pursue opportunities to show love.
Its effect on us is joy.
~
I hope you stop trying to jump to strange heights to prove you’re useful and growing.
God’s banner over you is love (Song of Solomon 2:4).
Every time you reach for Him, He causes you to reach out in love, even when you don’t notice it’s happening.
Because it’s who you are.
~
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
~ Jesus
{Matthew 11:28-30 MSG}