The Journey Continues

It's been awhile since I've written or even visited blogland. But, I want to take the time today to continue the story of my journey into ministry. This is the second post. If you've not read the first post you can check it out at Let The Journey Begin.

In March of 2002, I got a flyer from the American Association of Christian Counselors about a seminar they were offering in California called, "Trauma and Loss". This was exactly the area I felt God pulling me to but a single mom, scraping up enough money to fly from Indiana to California...seriously!! But, God in his infinite wisdom and divine provision made it possible through a tax refund and the fact that my brother lived in Pasadena which was the area this seminar was taking place. He was thrilled with the idea that we would be coming out and opened his home to us. So, my daughter Chelsi and I boarded a plane to Los Angeles (my very first airplane trip and it was love at first take off). The seminar actually took place in Irvine California and my brother graciously drove me there and I stayed at a hotel for a couple days.

The seminar offered many different classes focusing on grief and trauma and its effects on people. But, one speaker in particular really grabbed my attention. His name was Ray Giunta. He was a crisis response chaplain who had just gotten back from 68 days at Ground Zero. He told story after story of encounters he had as he walked amidst the devestation that was left after the planes flew into the world trade center. People were reaching out to him not because he was such a nice guy (which he was) but because of who he represented...Jesus. He talked about how he had a pack he wore around his waste. He filled one side with candy bars and the other side with Bibles. When he walked out to some of the workers to talk with them, he opened his pack and said, "Hey, anybody want a candy bar." The response was, "We don't care about the candy bars but we'll take the Bibles."

After 9/11 people were crying out to God. They were seeking His face in this country like never before. The call to people serving in ministry was great and they needed to be there...I wanted to be there. When I listened to Chaplain Ray's stories, I wanted so much to be there with him. I wanted to hear the stories, I wanted to hug on them and offer a shoulder to cry on, I wanted to assure them that God loves them and that He was still on His throne. But, I thought this idea of being a chaplain was so far out of reach for me...so out of the question.

You see, I wasn't attending a church...don't get me wrong. I loved God with everything I was but I had an issue with churches...religion. (This is an issue I will talk about in a later post) So, to be a chaplain just wasn't gonna fly with me. Who was I to do such a thing and to do it would be embracing religion.

As I left that place, I knew that I knew that I knew that grief, trauma and loss were where I wanted to serve. I wanted to be with people who were going through a crisis. Death, trauma, divorce, whatever the crisis, I wanted to be the hands and feet of Jesus to them.

As I waited at the airport for my flight for home, I picked up a magazine that had articles about people who had survived 9/11 and how they were dealing with the grief. It was a fascinating article but what I didn't realize before I got on the plane was that the front cover of the magazine had a picture of a plane flying into one of the towers. Oops....not exactly something folks on a plane want to see. I was careful to cover it up.

This story is far from over....more later.

Life and Death

Sunday, April 19, 2009 I was driving to my Mom and Dad's on a rainy night. I had been calling throughout the day to find out how my mom was doing. "She had a good night." "She's in a lot of pain." "She's not responding any more." "Her feet are gray and her breathing is slowing." That was the call that told me it was time to go see her. I remember wondering how much longer she had. Would I make the two hour trip in time enough to see her before she died??

About an hour into my trip, I felt a strong urge to call and check on her one more time. I called my daughter's cell phone...no answer. This told me something was up. I called my folks house. My dad answered. "Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm about an hour out. Is she gone?" I asked.

"Just come home" he responded.

"Is she gone?" I demanded.

"Yes."

Sunday, June 6, 2010, I got up in the morning and headed to my laptop to see what was going on in Internet land. I found out my niece's water broke. She was at the hospital and her contractions were 5 minutes apart. My first great-niece!! As I headed to church, I called my sister to see how my niece was doing. She told me the pains were about 3 minutes apart. I told her I'd check back after church to see how it's going. I called and she was still in labor and the pains were still a couple minutes apart. My husband and I decided we were heading up north to be with the family.

We made the two hour trek and waited for several hours but couldn't wait any longer and had to head back home. She was getting close but it still could be hours and we needed to get home. As we drove back home, I felt a strong urge to call my sister and check in. "I'll have to call you back, she's pushing!!"

A few minutes later, I got the call I had been waiting for...SHE'S HERE!!

To see these two stories side-by-side I began to see the awesome hand of God in life and death and how they are so similar. These were both situations where there was a struggle...each for new life. New life in this world and a new life in the kingdom of God.

I once had a chaplain supervisor who called the process of dying, birthing pains. It's so true!!

What I also found interesting was the fact that our plans, our schedules, our agendas are really not a high priority for our God. He has His plans and they will prevail...THANK GOD!!

Our God is an awesome God and I so want to see so much more of His hand in my life.

God Have Your Way!!!!