For years my husband and I languished
because we were not called. We had purposed to be full-time missionaries in the early
years of our marriage. Home missionaries (in the USA). Opening closed
churches. Helping struggling churches. But God had other plans. At every missionary conference
we cried bitter tears inwardly as the altar call asked for those who
were willing to give all to go to a lost and dying world. We prayed
that the embers of our passion would die out.
“Here am I, send me” seemed to fall
on deaf ears. We were not equipped to be the laborers to be sent to
the white fields of harvest. Others went, while we stayed behind.
Now, years later, at my kitchen table
over breakfast, I contentedly whisper the vow again, “Here I am, send me,
Lord.” My eyes sweep over the scene outside the windows overlooking
my neighborhood: The muddy trailer park road we have walked up and
down countless times in our 20 plus years living here, greeting
neighbors along the way. The trailers and RV's that house utility
workers who move from job to job or young struggling families who
stay until they are evicted or able to move up a step. My mind
wanders to the Tuesday morning Bible study I attend, the ladies I am
getting to know, the way we share burdens and grow together, those
who need uplifting and encouragement. I see in my mind's eye the
trailer across the street that is no longer there, that my husband
and I emptied out and sold after the dear mother and daughter who
lived there were admitted into a nursing home nearby. The mother has
since gone home to heaven. And to think that God used me to share the
hope of Christ with her when she was hopeless! There is no greater
joy! And I thank God for the many and varied opportunities He has
given us to help struggling churches we have been involved in over
the years.
Maybe you, like me, often pray for God
to send someone to come alongside wayward or lost loved ones to show
them the love of Christ, to lead them to Him. But do we make
ourselves available to be used by God to be the answer to such a
prayer? Pray for God to show you how and whom, and He will. The fields are ready to harvest, but the laborers are few.
“Here I am, Lord. Send me.”
