Uncertainty…that is a good word to describe my thoughts these days. I am certain of a few things:
- the ministry of Simplicity
- my role in the body of Christ
My point of clarity is in my call, most everything else seems up in the air.
As we finish out the month of June, we have only been able to pay a few household bills and are past due on the rest. We are $25 short of having the rent on our church space paid for. The businesses are only producing a few dollars here and there. I have been trying to find work, but not finding anything other than commission only positions that seem to want to nibble.
I have a unique situation, basic manual labor jobs won’t hire me because I’m overqualified or don’t have experience with that particular manual labor. White collar jobs think I’ve been away from the corporate world too long. I find myself unsure of what my steps should be.
God’s timing is interesting. As I was writing this I was called by a staffing company to come in for an interview tomorrow morning.
Yesterday was another kingdom encounter on South Staples. As we were getting ready to leave after the morning service, I heard someone shouting from across the street. A woman came over and asked if we could help her with groceries until her disability check arrived later this week. I could smell the alcohol on her breath, so I told her we would take her to the store and pick up a few staples if she would like. She agreed and off to the store we went.
I spoke to her about the alcohol on her breath and expressed my concern that it was 11AM. I asked her to be honest with me about her situation. I learned that she had just moved back to Corpus from Austin, and that she was originally from New York. She has been exposed to church and actually knows she needs to be in fellowship somewhere. Her mother is in frail health back in New York, but her relationship with her father is strained and it prevents her from going to see her mother. Her brother just finished a 15 year prison sentence, but came out a changed man after encountering Jesus in prison.
When we were done, we took her home…across the street from the church. We have been praying for a person of peace in the neighborhood, and in this woman we found the greatest receptivity to the touch of God that we have encountered since starting Simplicity. It is my hope that she will be our first person of peace in this troubled neighborhood.