Taking the Light with Me

Good morning, friends!  I'm looking out my window into the gloomy day praying for those of you who are in the aftermath of Sandy.  Will you report to us and let us know how you're doing?  Your sisters here would love to pray for your requests.

I want to continue to share with you about what God's doing in my heart concerning reaching out beyond my own comfort to minister to others.

Last night I feasted my eyes on fairies, princesses and super heroes--little people who have seen much more pain than I can imagine.  I was a line leader (haven't done that since elementary school!) at Interact's Fall Festival for their clients, staff and their children.

Interact is a conglomeration of services for women in Wake County.  The building houses the special crimes unit for Raleigh Police, the Solace Center where victims of sexual assault can have free post-rape exams, a counsel center for domestic violence victims, and an office for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle among other organizations.

Many of those little costumed people I spent the evening with have seen their mothers beaten, but last night they were showered with love and candy galore.

Interact is the place that I believe God has led me to serve as I try to follow Him in reaching out to hurting women.  Before you think I'm either noble or crazy (because it's not a Christian-based organization), let me clear things up.

• Although I thought I might get to be noble (Ha!  Don't we all want to be the hero?), I haven't been at all so far.  It turns out that my volunteer hours are when the most basic things need to be done.  I haven't lent my shoulder to any weeping women, but I've cleaned out and organized two play rooms.  Not a bad job for a girl who's more than a little OCD!    God has such a sense of humor and rarely does what I expect.  I'm starting to see that He's forming a servant's heart in me and creating humble places through this.  I just may be there more for the hard-working staff than for anyone else.  They have tremendously difficult and draining jobs.
• I think I've purposefully been sent to a secular setting.  Many churches invest in Interact and there is an acceptance of prayer and faith-sharing there, but it is not a Christian organization.  So why am I there?  I've had this realization.  Jesus is the Light, and He is in me.  I'm not just called to congregate with all the other people with the Light like I've done most of my life.  I'm called to take His Light into darkness.  The truth is that I've mostly taken His Light where there's more Light, and I haven't always done it for the right reasons.  God is showing me that I don't need to be threatened by people who aren't like me.  I just need to be true to Him and to myself and to love others.  That's it.  He's big enough to keep me and take care of the rest.

I'm sure there are lots of you who have been volunteering or working professionally for years in organizations that serve hurting people.  Would you share some of your wisdom and experiences with a newby?