Daily Verse

Send Them Away

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Fact - 60 - 70% of long term are residents will not receive a single visitor in an entire year.

Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” Mark 6:36 The disciples had rowed across Galilee with Jesus, with the promise of some well deserved time off and rest. But when they arrived at the dock they were met by throngs of people and Jesus, ever compassionate, had taken turned their holiday into another long teaching session. By late afternoon the disciples were tired, they were hungry and it was late. What could be more reasonable than to send the crowds away? But Jesus didn’t buy into their thinking. Instead He told them. “You give them something to eat.” When it comes to visiting or serving in nursing homes, we probably feel overwhelmed just like the disciples. I know, because I feel like that almost every week. But Jesus isn’t asking us to figure it all out before we do something. He simply asks us to step out.

Now this idea of Jesus’ surprised the disciples and brought about a flurry of them trying to explain the facts to the Master (Ever tried that?} ” Look Jesus, it’s not just late, but we only enough money to buy enough food for everyone to get one bite. Where in the world are we supposed to find food for them out here?” Their words sound both reasonable, as well as strangely familiar, because most of us have tried to skate such logic by Jesus. “We’re broke, we’re too busy, we’re exhausted ourselves.”, and these are all real issues. But instead of going along with this way of thinking, Jesus began to outline His own plan, with a question. “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” the answer came back; “Five loaves and two fish.” (vs 38). Maybe you feel you don’t have much when it comes to serving residents in long term care. But Jesus only asks us to put our loaves and fish into HIs hands. We will be surprised how a little surrendered to Him can do amazing things!

Then Jesus moved to step two – Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. – (vs 39) Once we have given what we have to Him our next step is not, “Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work!” Instead, just like the Good Shepherd of Psalm twenty-three Jesus commands us to sit down in green pastures. He’s got this! We aren’t called to fix every problem. He just wants us to trust Him! At this point the disciples had two options: they could have thrown up their hands and walked away saying, “This will never work!” or they could obey. They chose option two and once Jesus had all they had in His hands, and they sat down to rest, He began to work. – And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. – (vs 41).

When we do things Jesus’ way, He will put back into our hands some very ordinary looking things, but they will now be empowered to do more than we ever dreamed. What is it that is in your hands today? Can you make a phone call? Can you send a card? Will you be able to visit? Will you pray? With 1.4 million people in long term care, that means that more than one million of them will not have a visitor for Mother’s or Father’s Day, their birthdays will be forgotten, and soon the last chapter of their lives will be closed. Why not bring them whatever it is that Jesus has put in our hands?

How to Walk With Lambs

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But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. Genesis 33:13 ESV

While he was a young man, unlike his brother Esau who had been primarily a hunter, Jacob took care of his father’s flocks of sheep and goats. Then over the next twenty years, Jacob worked for his father-in-law doing guess what? Yup – he was still messing around with sheep and goats! So, if there was one thing that Jacob knew, it was how to walk with the flock. Now, I am by nature a hurrier. I used to rush through breakfast, speed out the door like Dagwood on the way to his job, and wolf down my lunch, afraid of falling behind. But when I became a grandfather, I learned the delightful art of walking slowly with my grandchildren. They stopped to look up at birds, bent down to pick up acorns and stomped in every available mud puddle. They taught me that efficiently speeding around the block was far inferior to genuinely enjoying the journey and seeing all the wonders along the way.

How strange it has been to learn that at the opposite end of life’s spectrum, in nursing home ministry that what I learned from my grandchildren works there as well. When I stop in to see my friend Lorna I can’t simply ask, “How are you doing Lorna?” without giving her a minute to gather her thoughts and tell me about her doctor’s visits, the nice young lady who took her to church or her daughter’s plans to visit for Mother’s Day. Spending time with people who don’t have many visitors means that they want to soak in every moment they can while we are with them. I was struck this past Sunday by a testimony from a couple in their eighties, who serve in our church’s nursery. During their talk, the pastor showed a short video of them holding babies, and gently rocking them. They had learned that walking with lambs means that sometimes we even have to carry them!

Who are the lambs where you live? You may need to pray and ask God to open your eyes to the see them. And walking with lambs means slowing our pace, because getting places on time is far less important than arriving with every lamb that God has put in your care!

For those with an interest in learning more about nursing home ministry, I have written a book filled with stories about some of the lambs I have met along the way. Walking With Lambs is available in both soft cover and eBook format on Amazon.

IN – Everything Give Thanks

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In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV

The Apostle Paul, who wrote these words to the Thessalonians, was an expert on giving thanks in everything. When Paul and Silas had first arrived there, they were still healing from the beating they had received in Phillipi, not to mention spending the entire night hey had spent in the jail. In Thessalonica things were going a bit better for the first three weeks, but then some people began stirring up trouble there also and they ended up leaving town just ahead of an unruly mob. I imagine that when the church gathered to listen to Paul’s letter read publicly, many of these new Christians nodded their heads in agreement. “Oh yeah! We definitely know what Paul means by “giving thanks in everything.” They had witnessed Paul thanking God while still in some terrible situations. Paul thanked God when he arrived in Thessalonica and was gladly received, and he thanked God when he had to head on to the next town because of persecution. So, this morning I ask myself, “Am I being thankful while still in this situation, or am I waiting for everything to work out first”?

The beauty and the adventure of this Christian walk is not only about the victorious outcome, but in the rejoicing, praying and giving thanks to God, while all we can see is suffering, unanswered questions and problems we cannot solve. On this earth we will not see every issue resolved, every injustice made right, or every wound healed. Instead, on this side of Heaven there are tears, doubts and frustrations, but God gives us the choice of complaining about everything or giving thanks in the middle of the mess. The verse urges us to do this because it is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. It is His will in Christ Jesus, who gave thanks for the bread on the night He was betrayed, and later prayed for His enemies to be forgiven, while He was on the Cross. God’s will in Christ Jesus is the same for us, right here, right now, in the middle of everything, we are to give Him thanks!