[Our topic NEXT WEEK: Conspiracies, Misinformation, & Rumors – How to Avoid Adding Grist to the Mill]
It feels great to be able to contribute something to the world, doesn’t it? To know that you have resources, funds, or just simple wisdom to share that might be beneficial to others. It gives us a sense of purpose and fulfillment – the joy of knowing we can make a difference in small or large ways.
So why do we struggle sometimes with being on the receiving end?
Before we unpack that, let’s welcome those whom I met this past weekend at the Cedar Lake, IN women’s fall retreat who are joining us here for the first time. You helped each other in so many ways, including giving new meaning to the term “Holy Rollers!” (photo below.)
The book of Acts tells us that when the apostle Paul was preparing to depart from Ephesus, he instructed the elders there to follow his example of helping those in need by working hard.
“You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus,” he reminded them. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:33) Perhaps no teaching of Jesus is more well known than that one.
I’ve just returned from serving as the speaker at three back-to-back weekend women’s retreats in three different regions of the country. Over the course of these packed weeks (with a hurricane in the middle), I was privileged to interact with nearly 500 women as well as many staff members.
Ironic, isn’t it, that I was contracted to teach at each event, but instead those present taught me?
At Camp Berea in New Hampshire, a longtime friend from Massachusetts registered whom I’ve been praying for as she navigates the loss of proximity to one beloved to her. This was a multi-church retreat with 250 women in attendance from all over New England, yet Pat (not her real name) came alone.
Pat and I shared one meal together and talked a bit as we walked, but it was the women in her cabin – all previously unknown to her – who gathered around Pat in loving prayer and support. I was concerned she’d feel alone in the midst of the crowd, but instead her new sisters were there for her.
As I taught throughout that New England weekend, I was agonizingly aware of the devastation Hurricane Helene was wreaking on a multi-state region including my hometown in western North Carolina.
With communications down for days, I could not contact our church or neighbors. Yet the women present insisted on gathering to pray for those whom we could not reach or help in any other immediate way. It wasn’t until the retreat concluded that my husband and I finally got word that despite property damage, Peace Ridge remained. Yet during those anxious days of uncertainty, I was held by the love of God’s people.
The ministry of presence.
At Black Rock Retreat Center near Lancaster, PA, the following weekend, I was astonished to see Hurricane Relief flyers placed on each table. I flew home with generous donations that our church is using to directly assist local residents who have lost so much.
The ministry of giving.
My daughter was with me, and we were both blessed by Faith Church’s incredible worship team, led by a Dove and Grammy award-winning lead vocalist whose music Amber and I have listened to for 25 years. Now married to a pastor, Heather and her team led us in praise that broke the emotional dam in my heart, allowing me to release my emotions for the first time since Helene.
The ministry of music.
At Cedar Lake Ministries in northern Indiana this past weekend, Mike and I navigated the 13-hour drive around closed highways, determined not to renege on my commitment.
Yet while I went with the intention of serving their guests, I was the one who benefited the most. Still reeling from my first views of the devastation in our area and friends’ homes filled with mud, I was there to teach on the subject of God’s holiness—not a light topic under the best of circumstances.
But while those present took the content seriously, they certainly didn’t take themselves that way.
During our free time on Saturday, new friends invited me to join them on an old-fashioned midwestern hayride, and we climbed a three-story platform to gleefully zipline across a field.
On Saturday morning, I shared a silly-but-true story with them about my very first speaking engagement in 1991. I had set my hair the night before and wore my newly cleaned best dress, only to realize to my horror upon my arrival home that dry-cleaning tags were still stapled to the sleeves with metal foil covering the double-breasted buttons.
Worse still, a big green Velcro roller fell out of my hair! I had taught an all-day seminar on Bible study without realizing I’d failed to remove the last roller from the crown of my head, though those in attendance must certainly have seen it. I felt like such an idiot.
So what happened at our Saturday evening session as I taught once more on God’s holiness?
Unbeknownst to me, several women in the audience came with rollers in their hair in solidarity – a fact I didn’t realize until someone texted me with this photo.
For the first time, I realized what “holy rollers” truly are!
The ministry of laughter.
Friends, it may be more blessed to give than receive, but as one who’s been on the receiving end the past three weeks, please know how grateful I am for each of you.
Next week (swallowing hard), if I still have the courage, we’ll tackle a tough topic here – how to combat the conspiracy theories, media misinformation (both social and otherwise), and those infernal rumor mills that can have devastating repercussions in churches, communities, and countries.
And to lighten things up a bit, I’ll be giving away two copies of a beautiful new book of prayer-blessings.
Thanks for journeying with me. I love you, friends!
~Maggie