Isaiah 6:8

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Nicole Mroczek

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"--Isaiah 6:8

I still remember it like it was yesterday . . . I was serving at the Neighborhood Food Distribution. I was assigned the table with cans of fruit and I was to hand out 2 cans to each family. The lines were long that day; over 400 people were waiting to go through the line. All of a sudden, I looked up to hand the cans to the girl in front of me and it hit me "I knew her".

She was a year younger than me in high school but coming from a smaller school in Nebraska, you pretty much knew everyone. I could tell that she was embarrassed and I was flustered and didn't know what to do. I said lamely "hi, how are you?" She replied "fine" and kept going. I am sure she wanted to say to me "how do you think I am doing? I am here going through a food line".

I remember leaving that evening feeling a deflated. Later, after processing this situation, I really felt like God called me to do something more that day. He called me to step out of my comfort zone to talk to her more, to let her know that it was alright that she was there, to let her know that I wasn't judging her, to listen to her, to offer to help even if it was just in prayer.

God has a funny way of giving us multiple opportunities to step out of our comfort zones. Fast forward to the next summer and I went to my 10 year high school reunion. She was there because she had married a classmate of mine. I took the opportunity to talk to her and I learned that she was a very strong person who was going through a rough spot because of the economy and a loss of a job. I offered to pray for her and she was very grateful for that. I told her to stay in contact with me and maybe we could even do lunch sometime. I haven't heard from her again but I know that God wanted me to reach out to her to let her know that I cared for her and so did God.

Questions for Reflection:

• Is God calling you to step out of your comfort zone to take on a new serving opportunity or to reach out to a friend/family member in need/hurting?
• When you are serving during Southwood Serves today or during the next week, listen and pray for ways that God is calling you to do his work in the world.

Prayer:

Lord, please help us to be brave and step out of our comfort zones when you call us to be your hands and feet in this world. Amen.