Day Seventeen - When People Need Your Presence at the Party

We have been making some big decisions around a home in this season, and the one anchoring non-negotiable is that we feel so planted in our neighbourhood that we can’t move very far at all.

I really do love the people I have been called to live amongst. Every conversation that I hAbe at the moment involves questions around meaning, purpose, relationships, wisdom, clarity and direction for their lives.

Somehow the Christmas season collides with the end of year fatigue and the existential meaning of life questions. And even more this year.

So tonight as I head off to bed, I want to suggest a few ways that I personally walk this journey with authenticity and boldness.

You need to understand that everywhere you go, your carry Purpose, you carry Peace, you carry Presence. You carry Jesus into rooms. So be B.O.L.D

1. B - Be yourself. God has designed you uniquely. You are the right person, at the right place, at the right time. Do not try and be anyone but yourself.

2. O - Observe the room and wait for the right opportunity for 'WHO' the Holy Spirit would lead you to connect with. This can feel awkward and make you want to leave prematurely. But wait if you can. Watch the dynamic and be led by the Spirit.

3. L - When you do find someone .. Listen ...because not many people feel really heard. You can ask questions and actively engage in that person's world

4. D - Go deeper to where people's pain point is and you will discover your 'WHY' for God needing you in that room, at that party, for that purpose

I will leave you with my favourite author'as thoughts on the Ministry of Presence (and although here in MTL we are in a further lockdown .. let’s not forget what presence means!

and post COVID ... hugs, hugs and handshakes and more of this please!

“More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them.”