Blessings in the Storm

I awoke on Thursday to the rumble of thunder and that cozy morning darkness that accompanies rain storms. It was my day off and I wanted to roll back over, close my eyes, and go back to sleep. The rain was threatening to ruin my morning plans anyway so why should I get up? But after a few minutes of an internal pep talk I did. I got up, got dressed, and made my way to the Caribou Einsteins across the street for my morning coffee, bagel, and quiet time with God. As I read through the She Reads Truth study of Ruth, I knew it was not going to be an ordinary day.

A few months ago, I joined a team of about 100 people from Wooddale church to launch a new campus in Loring Park located in downtown Minneapolis. We leased a gorgeous piece of real estate called the Music Box Theater situated a few blocks from the park, a few blocks from eat street, and right in the middle of 3 large subsidized housing projects. Because of my love and experience with kids, I joined the children’s ministry team, so if there were kids from the neighborhood that wanted to come to church, they would have something just for them. As summer approached, God laid a vision on our hearts to provide a weekly kids program on Thursdays and the Music Box Kidz was born. We kicked off with a movie night, showing Zootopia, and inviting the kids to learn about what we had planned for the summer. We had about 15 kids show interest in attending our camp, so our first day we planned for 15 kids, although we had no idea how many of them would come.  We ended up having about 8 kids. The second week we also had 8 kids, but not the same 8 kids. That night we hosted a worship night at the Music Box for the community. Families of the kids who attended in the morning came and told us how much their kids loved coming and couldn’t stop talking about what they were learning. We expected to have steady growth as the summer progressed, but Week 3 only 2 kids came. Week 4 again only 2 kids. Week 5 there were 6 kids. Each morning the kids talked about how they loved coming and didn’t want to leave when it ended, but our numbers stayed low and only a few kids came more than 1 time. Our plan for week 5 was a sports day at the park, but when I awoke to a torrential downpour I knew that was not going to happen. Would we have any kids come? Was it really worth getting out of my nice warm bed after a really long week at work to trek downtown in the pouring rain only to be disappointed when no one showed up?

Thankfully, God knew where my heart was as we met for coffee that morning. The Scripture He highlighted from Ruth is found in Ruth 2:12: “May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” As I read the commentary written by Amanda Bible Williams of the She Reads Truth team, this bolded statement wiped away any lingering doubt: Your small and steady acts of faithfulness are being used in big and beautiful ways in the kingdom of God. It didn’t matter how many kids came each week or how many kids would come that morning. He would use the work we put into this summer for His eternal glory whether we saw the fruits of that or not. So with a fresh perspective, I made my way to church.

Our theme for the summer was fruits of the Spirit, each day we picked 1 or 2 fruits to highlight and would read a story out of The Jesus Storybook Bible that related to that fruit. Thursday was kindness and I planned to read the story of Zacheaus and how Jesus was kind to him. We were able to adapt our sports day to indoor sports games that could be played in the church lobby including walking soccer and relay races with an agility ladder. At 10:05, 2 smiling faces bounded in to greet us, excited to be at the theater. We walked around the building across the street to see if any of the other kids wanted to come, but none were home. 

Still excited about God’s encouragement from the morning, I knew God was going to do something special for these two kids. The morning began to unfold in it’s typical fashion, but once I was finished reading the story, the kids started to ask questions about Jesus. Was he real? Is that a true story? Why was he so nice to that man? As we gave answers the questions started to go deeper. Who killed him? Why did they kill him? Why didn’t he stop them? Was he really God’s Son? I turned to the story of Jesus’s death and resurrection in the Jesus Storybook Bible and started to read. These 2 bouncing kids sat listening, anxiously waiting for me to turn to the next page, asking more and more questions. The story of hope and redemption unfolded before them, a story they had never heard before. The story of a father who loved them, even though they have done bad things. A father who made a way for them to live forever with him because he loved them so much. The story of Jesus, who can help them when they are afraid or angry or sad. Eventually the wiggles won out, the story ended, and their attention went elsewhere, but God allowed the seeds to be planted. I have a feeling those seeds are going to grow into beautiful fruit in each of their lives and that God is going to use them for a very specific purpose. Will you join me in praying for Kevin, Shania, and their mother Dorian? 

We all face storms that make us not want to get out of bed. Life has a way of generating uncertainty, leading us to question our purpose, our worth, and if the things we do actually make a difference. Let me encourage you friends, you have purpose, you have worth, and you are making a difference. Every time you take a chance and step out in faith, God will reward your effort. We have the chance to live extraordinary lives by taking one ordinary step at a time. What is God calling you to step into? What small and steady step of faith is He going to use in big, beautiful ways for His kingdom? 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. ~Ephesians 3:20