Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Colossians 3:2-4 NKJV
As we face the prospect of entering a New Year filled with opportunities; challenges and unseen difficulties; I am tempted to sit down, draw up plans and set some personal goals. The weakness of plunging into this line of thinking is that it offers a temporary sense of peace while leaving the most important thing of all to side; which is prayer.
Prayer is like the patience and hope that the runner feels as he or she waits to hear the starting gun. In prayer we set our mind, not on the ticking of the clock but on the plans and purposes of our God, who has designed the course for us to run. He holds in His hands Heaven’ s stop-watch, which will mark off the seconds of our laps and record our finishing time at the finish line. He will be the judge of what matters because He is He is our Life! So let us commit to listen to His voice and wait eagerly for Him.
So what does that mean for us in Nursing Home Ministry? Why not begin by remembering that everything we do, say or give begins with Him? We are go to Nursing Home, not just to make us feel better about ourselves, but to carry the message of the Hope of Jesus Christ. He cares about the people who push their walkers or wheel through the halls and He is simply sending us to be their neighbors. We each have different abilities, personalities and weaknesses that God wants to use. He has better plans for how to reach people than we do. He has new and more creative ideas than we could ever come up with on our own. What we need to do is to wait for Him and listen for His starting gun. It is almost time for the race to begin. He promises is that we will run with out becoming weary if we wait for Him. He assures us that He will show us the path ahead if we will look up to see the heart of Jesus Christ.