Pastoral Ponderings—How to BLESS
Remember that B.L.E.S.S. series we did a while back, using the framework to Begin with Prayer, Listen, Eat, Serve, Share? I’ve got a good simple example sitting in our parking lot right now that I thought might be helpful to share how this approach can be such a simple thing.
I got a call from a young lady out of the blue yesterday, saying she and her husband are taking some time to do an RV tour of the country, passing through here, having engine trouble, and asking if they can park in our parking lot overnite while awaiting getting their vehicle in for service today. Such a simple request, no cost, no strings attached, a simple “yes” of a blessing. Being a stop on such an exciting adventure, I said, “sure, as long as you have coffee with me in the morning and tell me about your adventures!”—to which she readily agreed. So I started praying about how I could be a blessing to them in this short encounter.
I remembered this morning I should pick some of the very abundant kale coming up in my garden to share with our son over here who just loves the stuff, but as I was arriving to the church, I realized I could offer these travelers the kale instead. So when she came in for coffee, I offered, and we talked for a bit, and I asked about their story. So far we’ve covered BEGIN with prayer, LISTEN, and I couldn’t help jumping the gun with the EAT—I think coffee counts—SERVE (with the Kale), and starting on SHARE. Great conversation, and in LISTENing, I found as usual that there’s more to the story, and then sent them off with PRAYER and my business card—asking that they please keep in touch and share about their travels.
And then I’m back to my regular routine. A simple, quite painless, and actually very enjoyable way to B.L.E.S.S. a family on their way, perhaps even making new friends if they do keep in touch (in which case you’ll probably hear more about them and their travels!). This is getting me excited—who can I B.L.E.S.S. next! Isn’t it amazing when we B.L.E.S.S. others, how much of a blessing we get in return?
Give it a try—I can pretty much guarantee it will give you more God Sightings to share!
Keep being a blessing—even if in such simple ways! Pastor Jim