So, for a short time now, I have been enjoying getting to know a local ministry in the city of Milwaukee. I came to know this mission completely by accident. Or, was it an accident? Somehow I think not, and the reasons for it are part of a bigger plan. The group is called StreetLife and they work with the under-served in the city of Milwaukee. StreetLife is a community full of people who have a passion for restoring hope and dignity in a world where sometimes it seems like its gone.
As I have mentioned previously, whatever you choose to do has to strike a chord with you. It’s not wrong if it doesn’t, but sometimes I think we don’t know how we are going to feel about something until we have given it a try and sometimes I think we don’t want to take that first step. I didn’t discover my passion for missions until I took a leap of faith 4 years ago and joined a group from church on a mission trip to Honduras. Most of the time I think life is a leap of faith, and we have to be wiling to fall down, make mistakes and keep falling down in order to find the thing that speaks to us, but most importantly, to grow in our faith. Everyone has a gift. Everyone can contribute in some way. I had no idea that a spark was going to be ignited in me but clearly it was God’s plan for me.
It’s hard for me to explain sometimes to people because I can’t find the right words - again not that gifted a writer or speaker, and sometimes I trip up and its almost like I have lost all ability to speak. But, I don’t think that we always have to verbalize where we are at, sometimes I think it is spoken through the life that we live. Our life is our testimony, and our testimony comes in all shapes and sizes. I am not perfect, I screw up, I make mistakes, and I fall down.
During the Saturday morning shift at StreetLife, I had the opportunity to observe and participate a little in a conversation with a women who came into the food pantry, feeling somewhat lost. She told one of our leaders that she felt completely alone in the world, especially since she lost her mother. Our leader later reflected on what she said with the group that was getting ready to leave for the parking lot ministry. He said, "if you can feel alone inside this building, imagine what it feels like out there". It was simple but poignant statement.
No one should feel alone in the world, but so many do, and this is why we do what we do. We want people to know that we do care and we are there for them. Lonely is not being alone, but its the feeling that nobody cares.
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As I have mentioned previously, whatever you choose to do has to strike a chord with you. It’s not wrong if it doesn’t, but sometimes I think we don’t know how we are going to feel about something until we have given it a try and sometimes I think we don’t want to take that first step. I didn’t discover my passion for missions until I took a leap of faith 4 years ago and joined a group from church on a mission trip to Honduras. Most of the time I think life is a leap of faith, and we have to be wiling to fall down, make mistakes and keep falling down in order to find the thing that speaks to us, but most importantly, to grow in our faith. Everyone has a gift. Everyone can contribute in some way. I had no idea that a spark was going to be ignited in me but clearly it was God’s plan for me.
It’s hard for me to explain sometimes to people because I can’t find the right words - again not that gifted a writer or speaker, and sometimes I trip up and its almost like I have lost all ability to speak. But, I don’t think that we always have to verbalize where we are at, sometimes I think it is spoken through the life that we live. Our life is our testimony, and our testimony comes in all shapes and sizes. I am not perfect, I screw up, I make mistakes, and I fall down.
During the Saturday morning shift at StreetLife, I had the opportunity to observe and participate a little in a conversation with a women who came into the food pantry, feeling somewhat lost. She told one of our leaders that she felt completely alone in the world, especially since she lost her mother. Our leader later reflected on what she said with the group that was getting ready to leave for the parking lot ministry. He said, "if you can feel alone inside this building, imagine what it feels like out there". It was simple but poignant statement.
No one should feel alone in the world, but so many do, and this is why we do what we do. We want people to know that we do care and we are there for them. Lonely is not being alone, but its the feeling that nobody cares.
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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