“No wait. I can’t go yet. I’m not finished! Someone help! I’m not finished!”
Praying for my Entrusted journey led me to the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) for my son’s school. I’m a book lover, so naturally, helping with the Fall Book Fair was an excellent PTO project for me.
A few days into the fair, I came across a young girl kneeling on the floor who was upset that she didn’t finish her list by the time her teacher was calling her back to her classroom. She just couldn’t write the letters fast enough. She was clearly disappointed with herself and stressed under the time crunch. I put my hand on her shoulder and told her she didn’t need to fret. I could help her quickly complete her list. She sat back on her heels and took a deep breath as I took her pencil. I handed her the completed list and assured her, “See, we got it done! Nothing to worry about!”
She took another deep breath, stood and looked right at me. I couldn’t help but see that sweet girl and wonder more about her. Why is she so stressed? Did her morning start out rough? What would make her happy?
I looked her in the eyes, gave her shoulder a little squeeze and tried to encourage her by saying, “You have a good day, OK?” She sighed back—partially to me, partially to herself—and said, “Yeah, OK. Have a good day!” And off she went.
There it was. My chance to be like Jesus.
You see, I had a different vision of how my Entrusted journey was going to shake out. My goal was to meet unchurched PTO parents, talk about Jesus, invite them to church… but God had a different plan for me.
While setting up for the fair, I found myself using harsh words in an uncomfortable conversation and I had to stop and ask myself, “Am I exemplifying Jesus here?” Then, I worked with a volunteer who is a pastor who ended up praying for me! I was being taught lessons when I thought my journey would be about sharing what I knew about Jesus. And I certainly didn't think my opportunity would come in the form of a little girl who helped me as much as I helped her. Completing her wish list wasn’t much of an effort on my part, but I immediately saw a picture of how Jesus cares for me and for you that inspired me.
How many times have you been stressed or overwhelmed, feeling dejected, like you just couldn’t do it? The next time you’re in that moment, pause and think about Jesus coming alongside you, squeezing your shoulder and saying, “It’s OK. I’m here to help. I’ll get you through this.”
In Matthew, you can read stories of Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead and giving the blind sight. In many of them He says, “according to your faith” or “your faith has healed you.” It’s as simple as this, friends. Choosing Him as my Savior means I have an eternity of reassurance that I’m not alone and that I’m loved. And that’s why Entrusted is so important to me. Because I want others to know that kind of love, too.
Living Entrusted doesn’t have to be dramatic, but I’m confident God will do wonderful things through it.
How has your Entrusted journey shaped you or someone around you? Share here. How can Oakwood staff be praying with you? We love to hear from you!
