Jeff's Journal

A little listening will reveal

  perhaps what most of us would already assume.

Among us are those in chronic pain,

   folks worried about a family member,

   dealing with drug abuse issues,

   trying to remember, but having difficulty,

   taking treatments, going for tests,

   in physical therapy, depressed,

   struggling to make ends meet,

   being the caregiver in tough times,

   anticipating the diagnosis,

   living alone and trying to maintain,

   realizing the grandchildren aren't perfect,

   seeing relatives move further away,

   visiting the hospital and rehab facilities

   to stand by those recovering and more.

There are children who failed a class,

   babies being born (which changes everything

   in those families), parents going back to school.

   jobs lost, jobs sought, a man on death row,

   aches and pains in the upright and walking

   which you will never know, retirement,

   disability, mobility troubles, vision problems,

   financial concerns, folks on call 24/7,

   seniors in nursing homes, children leaving

   for college, developmental disability,

   mental illness, people afraid, nervous and

   anxious, there are people who have had

   to stop driving who find themselves isolated

   for the first time, there are people who are

   shy or who cover their shyness with attempts

   at extroversion, people who are misusing Facebook,

   people inconsolable over past mistakes…

   …and more.

As the church, we have our work cut out for us.

There is much to do, people to love and support

   and problems to help solve.

Are you up to it?

Are we up to the challenge?

Moving to the deeper places,

Jeff