Ministry is hard. Peers don't return calls and show up late for meetings. Volunteers are unreliable. I have 600 emails. I had to work through lunch with my team and the dressing on my Caesar salad was a little tart. It's hot in my cube because the sun reflects off the lake outside and streams through the large picture window next to me. My computer is slow.
I have a lot to complain about. I am pathetic.
I just received an email from my friend Ajith in Sri Lanka. He leads Youth for Christ in a nation torn by civil war and non-stop terrorism.
Dear friends,
I am writing to give you the sad news that ... a young YFC Education Worker in Kalmunai in the East was killed in a claymore mine blast yesterday. Our staff are at the funeral in his home town where there is no phone signal, so we have not got much details.
Please pray for his family who are all recent believers in Jesus. Pray also for our staff team there. Thanks. Ajith.
I call this kind of event a "reset" button. A death, loss, or other tragedy "resets" my thinking and aligns me with the reality that God has granted me nearly inconceivable blessings. A wonderful family, a challenging and rewarding ministry, a comfortable home in a safe neighborhood. I came to work today without a claymore mine ever crossing my mind. And yet I complained. Forgive me, Lord.
Any claymore mines where you work? What's your "reset" button?
