Seasons of Serving

Could it really be that only a week or two ago we were basking in hot sunny days?  The changing of the seasons has happened rather abruptly this year, and here we are with cold, rainy, windy "stay indoors" weather!  The four seasons are always welcome, and I look forward to what autumn, winter, spring and summer bring every year.

So too, with the seasons of life.  They come and go quickly, and change faster with the passing of years.  It seems like yesterday that I was a young woman, serving alongside my husband in our ministries, caring for our three young children.  Now Bob is with the Lord, our children are grown, and so are most of our grandchildren.  Six great-grandchildren now fill my heart and life!  I'm in the autumn of my life, with winter closing in.

There is a changing of the seasons with ministries too.  For various reasons, what I formerly was able to do in serving the Lord is no longer on my to-do list.  Health issues, financial limitations, responsibilities at home, family concerns, etc., loom large as one's seasons of life change.

But I have found JOY in serving the Lord in two nursing home ministries.  For the past ten years I've helped with a Bible study on Wednesday afternoons at Tierra Rose Care Center, and more recently, a new opportunity has opened up at Orchard Heights Care Center.  On Tuesday afternoons I'm able to read Scriptures to dear folks in the memory-care unit, and will start playing hymns on the little organ in their "living room."  It has been joyous for me to see how the residents connect to Scriptures that they learned many years ago.  Other memories have faded for them, but I have seen, first-hand, that the Word of God is alive in their hearts and memories. One woman, who was not anxious for me to read the Bible to them, corrected me when I read a verse from Psalm 100 out of my New King James version.  She said, "Stop! Wrong word!  It's NOISE, not 'shout'!” as I read the first verse.  I smiled and told her that she was correct, and so I re-read it, from memory, in King James Version.  She was beaming when I finished quoting the chapter - being reminded of God's precious Word that she had learned many years before.  It was a confirmation that God's Word is "quick, powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword", and I am privileged to be able to read it to residents who sometimes don't remember their families, where they are, or if they've had a recent meal.  They DO remember and LOVE hearing the Scriptures read, and that is my joy at this season of my life.

Perhaps you have had ministry opportunities in the past that are no longer possible for you.  God will open doors for you, to other much-needed ministries, if you will make yourself available.  Just ask Him.
Every season of life comes with its own blessings - just look for them!
--Sue Compton


First Baptist website: www.fbcsalem.org
to respond to this email: fbc@fbcsalem.org

First Baptist website: www.fbcsalem.org

to respond to this email: fbc@fbcsalem.org