I was talking to a friend about Care Ministry at our church because I t hink the Bible study Ann and I started last fall and will do again this fall fits under the catagory of care ministry more than it does a women's Bible study. As we were talking it suddenly felt weird to put care ministry into a little catagory all by itself. I understand there are needs that might go unmet if we don't have some people who are watching closer than the rest of us and it's also a place for someone to go to receive care when they aren't in a small group or just don't know where else to go, but I have ignored care ministry in the past because it scared me. I had a picture in my mind of people who had needs that I didn't know how to deal with, like mental illness, abuse, alcoholism or even emotions. I was once at a women's retreat when I walked into a room where someone was crying. Terrified I said, "I'll go get someone." I'm friends with that woman today and we laugh about it now, but the fact was I didn't know how to deal with someone else's pain, so I didn't. In retrospect, I see that I didn't have to have years of experience to help this woman. All I had to do was ask her how she was and listen and if the problem was something more than I knew how to handle I could ask someone else for help. It's like the good samaritan. He helped a half beaten man by bandaging his wounds, finding him a place to stay and some food to eat. He did what he could and left the man in the care of someone else. I haven't ever run into a physically half beaten person, but I've run into plenty of people who are beaten emotionally and spiritually. I don't have to worry about fixing their lives for them. God is in control of that. But by doing what I can I am God's hands and feet and people will feel God's love for them through me. I know because I have been there. It's not easy to believe God is doing something when you're in pain, but when someone helps me when I'm in trouble, I know God is there.
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