Our parish has a Bible study that is called The Cornerstone Scripture Study. We have been doing it at our parish for three years, this is going on to our fourth year and we have found that it is very successful in not only bringing forth knowledge from His word but also gathering us together as a faith community into small groups to break open how the message relates to our lives today.
I spent much of the morning doing the lesson for this week and found it coincidental that this week’s lesson focus’ on James 2 and Faith with Works. The reason why it is coincidental is because this week I’ll be leaving for the ACTS retreat early Thursday morning as a part of their cook team. If you knew me you’d find the HUGE irony in this…as I’m not one that would necessarily be ‘asked’ to be on ‘cook’ team. 🙂 I do enjoy cooking/baking but I wouldn’t say that it is my forte. However, I can serve and as I found out in our meeting today that is what I’ll be doing. Whew! 😉
It warmed my heart, though, listening to the other women that will be on cook team and recognizing how much of their personal time they are spending to make sure these ladies that will be coming to the retreat for the first time get the BEST as well as the team that will be serving them and giving so much of themselves physically, spiritually and mentally. I’ve never had to prepare to cook for 90+ people three meals a day and making sure all allergies and dietery needs are met. It’s a feat! But these main women in charge were non-plussed and thoroughly excited to do the job.
When I was asked (yes, I know I said no one would ask me but yes, they actually asked me) I was shocked because it has never been a job I wanted to do only because it goes outside of my comfort zone. But when I prayed about the opportunity and whether or not I had the time and capacity to do it I realized that maybe this is exactly what I need to do, get outside of what is comfortable and put my ‘faith with works’ to the test. Besides it is fulfilling a basic need – to be fed. In many ways I have had the privilege to help the Lord ‘feed’ people spiritually so this is just as much an honor as it is, too, a privilege.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.
Blessings
Shannon