I received this in response to the Bringing Hope to Hurting Hearts: Part Two post. I love hearing from you and I thought this was a wonderful strory for all of us so I wanted to share it with you too…
Dear Holley,
I just read your blog about ministering to others.
Let me share a story from my life. Several years ago, I went through months of being sick and in pain. I had gone to so many doctors, I lost count and not one of them could determine what was wrong. After literally months, of being in pain, not able to sleep and being sick all of the time, I came to the end of my rope. One night I called a friend to come over for a little while because I needed someone to talk to.
My friend came over and sat very quietly while I paced the floor and voiced my frustration with being sick, tired, in pain, not able to sleep and having to force myself to eat. When I had vented all of my frustration, I sat down on the couch, buried my face in my hands and wept. My friend did the most amazing thing … she walked over sat down beside me, put her arm around me and cried with me.
That may not seem like much, but when I think of times people have ministered to me, that is the first thing that comes to mind. It was truly a gift from God.
You see, my friend usually has something to say. I told her later that she ministered to me in a way that had the most impact. She usually has scripture to share or will pray with another person, but that time she just sat and cried. At that particular time, I did not want to hear scripture recited or have someone pray for me … I just needed to feel that someone cared that I was hurting.
My friend went one step further. She called her husband and told him she was going to spend the night at my house because she just felt that I did not need to be alone. She told me later that even though she knew I was sick, she had no idea how hard it had been on me until that night.
God does use others to minister and I am so thankful.
Blessings,
Barb
