Being an Instrument of God’s Grace
By: Rev. Steve Nance
Pastor, Groesbeck FUMC
Central District
Scripture:
11 Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking actual words of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving [a]by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and [b]dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:11 (The Message)
We are downsizing and simplifying our lives in anticipation of retirement down the road. In doing so, we are selling many household items, one being a glider rocker, utilizing Facebook Marketplace. A local lady responded and wanted the rocker but asked if I delivered. I didn’t know the person but the name was familiar and I agreed. When I arrived I realized who she was: the mother of a state trooper who was killed on duty last March in our own county. I asked the question I try to never ask in this situation, “How are you doing?” I received a typical response, “I have good days and bad days. Today is a bad day.” I told her most people don’t understand the depth of grief associated with losing a child and it was a special “community” of which she had joined and that I, too, was a “member.” She asked me inside and to share my story of loss. Reluctantly, I did both. The rocker, she said, was for her grandchild who was born just two months before the fatal shooting. She shared that she was a person of faith but also how angry at God she had been. I ministered to her from the perspective of Henri Nouwen’s “Wounded Healer.” As our time together came to a close, she told me, “God used the rocker to send you here today. I need to come to your church.”
I thought I was just delivering a rocking chair. God was delivering a message of hope and love.
Prayer: God, enable me through your Spirit to always be available to be used to deliver your messages of hope and love.
February 19th, 2021 – Waco, TX – 9:00-3:30
REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT:
www.ctcumc.org/ES22-registration