Being There...

“Tom, I need to tell you something”, he said.

I must be in trouble, I thought!

I had gotten to know “Gary”, one of the regulars at “Lucky’s Lake Swim”, a few months ago. As we had built our relationship, he discovered I was a pastor (I never let on that I am a pastor too early – I like the look of surprise in people’s eyes when they find out!). Last year Gary had pulled me aside and asked me if I would pray for his business*. He described the struggles he was having and the fear of losing everything in this economy.

I, of course, offered to pray, and did.

Every now and again I mentioned to Gary that I was still praying and inquired how things were going. I must confess a bit of fear, lest the business continue to tank and God and my prayers got blamed!

But this morning Gary called me over. “Tom, I need to tell you something”, he said, “I just wanted to thank you for praying for me. Things are really turning the corner for my business and I am sure that is because of you and your prayers.”

I, of course, deferred the credit to God, “I’m just a middleman” I told him.

He responded, “Middlemen are what make business work!”

I thanked him for his kind words and we parted. But I am most excited for our next conversation about Christ, now that I have banked a little spiritual capital with Gary.

I suppose the point is this: build relationships wherever you can, be up front and honest about your faith, offer to pray what people share their concerns with you, and always give the glory to Christ!

The well wisher of your soul’s happiness,
Pastor Tom

*When someone asks you to pray for them, that means what they will say next is really, really important to them. So handle it with care.