Read more of Abbie Mabary’s contributions to allmomdoes here.
Do you ever get overwhelmed trying to find your place in ministry? Most churches encourage all members to get involved. It’s a beautiful idea. If each member of a local church were to find an existing ministry to get on board with it would lessen the load for everyone and be an encouragement to the entire church body. You likely don’t have to look very far within your local congregation to find a list of ministry options.
When you peruse a church’s ministry list you’ll likely see things like: nursery duty, bible class teacher, greeter, funeral meal set up, hospital visits, etc. These are all really fantastic ways to help out. I would strongly encourage anyone to assist in any of these areas that they feel qualified and interested to serve. I would also issue a warning, from my own personal experience.
When I was a young mom, raising small children, it was hard. I wanted to help out in our church so I volunteered. I volunteered a lot. I taught bible class and I hosted ladies bible studies and I created a bible club for my daughter and her friends and I worked with the youth group and hosted bridal showers. Each of those things, separately, was wonderful but all together they were overwhelming. I was constantly running from point A to point B and I had left no margin in my life for helping the person right in front of me.
One Wednesday night, I stepped out of bible class for a quick bathroom break. While I was washing my hands I heard a faint sniffle come from a closed bathroom stall. And then another. It didn’t take long to realize that someone was crying. I wasn’t so cold hearted that I wasn’t concerned, but I was also super busy. I had a lot of ground to cover that night. People I needed to touch base with, class prep for the following week. Rush, rush, rush. I nearly left the bathroom without even checking to see who was crying or why.
But I didn’t.
I quietly, cautiously asked if they were ok. A face I recognized, but didn’t know well, peeked out of the stall and said no. It was a slap in my face to see the hurt on hers. Everything else stopped for a few moments and we hugged and cried and prayed together in that small church bathroom. And I realized in that moment that I needed to change some things in my own life. I needed to reprioritize some things so that I could leave some blank space in my life for “ministries” that didn’t have official names or titles. I have never seen “Hug A Crying Sister In The Bathroom And Pray With Her” on a ministry list but I know what an important ministry it is. Do you know how I know? Because years before I had an opportunity to comfort my crying sister, I WAS the crying sister in the bathroom. I found myself sad and overwhelmed and crying and a sweet friend gathered me in her arms and prayed with me. I am so grateful that she wasn’t so busy in her own life that she couldn’t stop to help me.
So do the things. Teach the kids and prep the meals and visit the sick. These are good, important things. But also leave yourself enough time to tend to the folks that God puts in your path on a random Wednesday night.
