Plain and Ordinary
Post a responseI’m always startled by how ordinary true spirituality is.
I recently watched my wife’s uncle care for his dying wife. In his mid-eighties, he never missed a beat in her daily care, always by her side, even as she appeared not to recognize him near the end.
I recently observed a woman in our church “shadowing” a special-needs child so that his parents could enjoy a worship service with no distractions. A simple but profound act of service.
Years ago, the parents of a stillborn child told me how an anonymous giver had paid for the funeral costs. The parents were virtually penniless at the time. There was no “brick” with the donor’s name on it. Or gold-plated plaque in the narthex. Just an anonymous gift to a poor couple in grief.
Those acts comprise the essence of God’s kingdom. Virtually invisible, they hold out hope for those of us who still think of spirituality as religion. It’s not. It’s the cup of cold water in Jesus name. Plain. Ordinary. In the moment.
Where have you seen the kingdom of God advancing in ordinary ways in your neighborhood?
March 30th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
A neighbor was able to go out of town for a couple days and leave her elderly mother at home because a church member checked in twice a day on the mother, making sure she ate and took her medication.
When my guitar cracked, preventing me from leading worship, a couple bought a $1,200 guitar for me when I couldn’t have afforded a $100 instrument. I was waiting tables at the time, and the couple – who I knew – wrote me a check while at the restaurant. I told fellow workers I gave such good service the people left me a $1,200 tip.
People at a church here pick up three blind and learning disabled individuals and bring them to service, help them to the fellowship time afterward, take them to the bathroom and also drive them home every Sunday.
April 2nd, 2006 at 9:58 pm
those are amazing acts of pure service