He's Still Working On Me....

This morning started like most Sunday mornings..with me waking up late, rushing around to dress my family, and running out the door to make it to church on time (only if could hit every green light). There was no time for stop signs or Sunday drivers. Yes, I did stop for every stop sign.

About two miles from home, on the corner of CR 7 and CR 32, we came across a man who was broken down on the side of the road. He was standing outside of his car. I stopped at the stop sign and asked Dave if we should see if he needed help. He said it was up to me. My mind instantly went to the thought of walking into church late and how everyone would notice. I'm sad to say we proceeded to head to church. The moment I hit the gas there was a strong tugging on my heart. I knew I should have stopped. We could have helped. The struggle going on in my head and heart intensified as we approached SR 19.

In the short two miles from the broken down car to SR 19 I couldn't quit thinking about this:

I call myself a follower of Christ, a disciple of His teachings. I desperately want to live out what is important to Him and yet I found myself rushing by a person in need to go to church? Ahh! No, that's not right! I got so caught up in being at the church building in time that I blatantly said "no" to a person in need.

I was reminded of Jesus' encounter with Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, in Mark 10. Jesus was surrounded by a large group of people as He walked along the road. While walking and teaching, He heard a beggar cry out for mercy. The moment Jesus heard the plea, he stopped. It didn't matter where He was going, or who He was with. There was a need.

I'm sure David thought I was crazy when I did a u-turn on a very busy State Road 19. At that moment, I felt like everything in me was fighting to get back to the intersection of 7 & 32 as fast as I could.

As it turned out, the man was able to contact someone and help was already on the way. He didn't even need our help. But, I'm not sure it even mattered if he needed our help in the end. It was more about obedience and faithfulness this morning than about meeting a need. You see, today I had found myself so wrapped up in getting to church that I had forgotten to BE the church. Hopefully tomorrow I'll do better.

I'm just so thankful that He's still working on me....