Thursday, April 15, 2010

Ministry

This has been an interesting week in ministry. I have been entrusted this week with family secrets, which is always an honor. It's hard, seeing the pain that is in so many families. They work so hard to hide that pain, to put on a good face. In the midst of hiding their own pain, they don't see that other families are in just as much pain. The causes may be different, but the pain is just as difficult. Because I've been so open about Daughter's struggles (I figure that the more people who know the truth, the more people there are to stop the wild rumors), people know that I can understand and empathize with their struggles.
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So I hear the secrets. I carry the secrets. I grieve, and I pray. We live in a broken world, and there is a great deal of suffering in it. Hopefully by sharing the secrets, they lighten their loads just a little. Hopefully hearing that they are not alone and that I am not going to judge them enables them to stand a little taller. Often, though, I wish I could do more....

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