A World of Difference

There is a world of difference between...

... "Let me know if you need a meal," and "What time tonight should I bring your dinner?"

"Let me know if there is anything I can do," and "I can watch the kids for you on Wednesday."

"If you need any help with packing, let me know," and "We are coming over tomorrow night and bringing boxes to help you pack."

"We should have a play date for our kids some time," and "Please join our play date on Monday."

Since the beginning of December our family has needed a lot of help. When you need a lot of help, you begin to understand what it means to help. Offers of real help involve specifics. They involve concrete actions attached to dates and times. They put little responsibility on the one who needs the help.

Since I have been on the receiving end of a LOT of help, I have been convicted of how often I extend half-hearted offers of help. Left to my own devices, I am a bad helper. When someone just had a baby or is getting divorced, recovering from surgery, or moving, "let me know if there is anything I can do" means little. There is so much that can be done. I need to pick something, commit to it, make a specific offer, and do it.

I have been spending time with a group of mothers at Gateway and am impressed with how they have actively included me in their activities. They don't say, "Let's get together some time;" they say, "Come meet up with us tomorrow." What is more, they talk about Gateway as a church that actively and tangibly helps its members and the community. Each woman had stories of the church helping them in really important ways, from laundry to house cleaning to child care.

The help I have received and the helpfulness I have seen in others lately has me thinking about what kind of ministry I want to have. I want our family's ministry to be one of real help, tangible and practical. Being helped has inspired me to be the hands and feet of Christ, to offer a cup of cold water to someone in His name. This is real ministry.

And it makes a world of difference.

Have you experienced this tangible help when you really needed it? What impact has it had on you?