December, Christmas, Leaders, Difficulties Redeemed, and Missed Opportunities

Good Morning Friends, Family, and Internet Wanderers

December has for the most part been a wonderful break from many of the stresses of work and school. I know for many who work in the church December is chaotic, but for someone who works with kids like me, many of our programs take a break for the holiday and only start up again in a week or so. So this month has been one of rest, joy, and while there have been fewer stresses and fears, there still have been a few.


Thankfulness

The month of December has been a fairly positive one and I leave it feeling energized to continue serving the people God has put in my path. One of the things which I am profoundly thankful is the growth I have been seeing in the two ministries which I spend most of my time, Youth and Young Adults. Both groups have been struggling numerically in the past, yet the final events of the year of both were exciting in terms of attendance, and also just in the quality of the interactions that were had.

Related to this I have experienced an answer to your prayers in regards to the difficult person I wrote about last month.  For most of December I gave this person a wide berth, not knowing how to really interact with them in a positive way. I know I should not let it affect how I treated them, and worked to have short positive interactions with them, but mostly I just tried not to speak to them and instead prayed about the situation as often as I remembered it. Yet I started to feel convicted by the Spirit not to avoid the person, but to love them as best I could despite the difficulties. Shortly after that this person came to me, and shared that they had prayed more about the situation and me, and that they now thought I was doing a good job. Not only did they change their mind, but the way the person spoke to me was significantly more positive. I do not know all exactly what sparked the change or if perhaps they had just been having a bad day earlier, but I thank God for his work in the situation.

Another point of thankfulness this month has to do with the pastor and his wife. I hear so many stories of difficult or tense relationships between Sr. and Youth Pastors, and while I occasionally disagree with my lead, he is always gracious and a teacher to his core. There are so many different ways that he and his wife have blessed me and as I reflect on December I specifically remember when I was debriefing the difficult situation with them how much I felt as if they were on my side. I asked about the issues, and wanted to make sure I was leading well and I felt such encouragement from them both. I am also so blessed that my lead lovingly calls me to be a better person. Earlier this month I was sick and I often ignore any symptoms I may actually have due to a combination of personal laziness and discomfort with doctors. Yet he encouraged and pushed me to get it sorted out, I had not been to a doctor in about 10 years and when the doctor ordered a battery of tests I was very nervous. Yet the results came and other than being a little overweight I am in perfect health. I am so very blessed to be lovingly pushed towards personal growth in all things.


Prayer Requests

As I shared last month there has been an increase in the number of people who I am praying for. In November I have had a few significant interactions, and in December I tried to build upon those but was not able to. This is partially due to the business of the season, but I also suspect it had to do with discomfort around sharing. Please join with me in praying for those who are sick and hurting in my community. Pray that they would experience the love of God in the midst of crisis. Specifically I ask for prayers for someone in my circle who is struggling with terminal cancer, that God would heal him.

I believe I have also shared before that I regularly pray for opportunities to share my faith with the people in my building, and my neighbourhood. Recently I have noticed some missed opportunities once it is too late to rectify them. I have ignored opportunities to talk, or interact with people on the street or in the local grocery store, etc. Please join with me in prayer that I would not miss any more, that I would notice the people God places in my path and greet them with hospitality and not be "in a rush" and so ignore them.

Finally this semester will look a little different for me than previous ones. The trouble with a graduate program is that there are only so many courses that can be offered at my level. For me this means that this semester I have taken almost all of the classes that would be offered and as such will be taking 2 classes in summer instead of 1, and 1 class now instead of 2. On the one hand I am excited as this will give me a bit more time for the next couple of months, but on the other hand it looks like it will really increase my workload in April-June which are traditionally my busiest months. Please pray that I will plan well, that I will use my extra time now to work ahead and make the most of the one class I am taking this semester.


Thank you so much for your continued prayerful support. The longer I spend serving the more I realize just how dependant I am on other people, on their prayers, their patience, and their support. I am so blessed by you.