The mission of the United Methodist Church is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” In our Small Group Ministry, we have been practicing the discipline of sharing where we experience God in our lives. I have invited some of our congregation members to take the next step by answering the following question: "What is one thing you wish could be changed in the life of a specific person you know (you can keep the person anonymous) or the lives of a local group of people by that person or group experiencing the love of God or having faith in God?" The following article is another in our series. I pray that as we envision how wondrous it is to have God in our lives that we will be emboldened to share God with others because God can be that wonderful in their lives too.
By Leily Chew
“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”
Psalm 46:1
I have a friend who is very nice and helpful to everyone she meets. She would cook things for people or give them money to buy food. Whenever someone tells her that they need money to buy things, she would give money to them even though she does not make much money, and may not even have enough money for herself. I would really like to help her myself. Sometimes she has family problems. Her son-in-law is always mad at her and he does not appreciate what she does for him and his family. She helps them by cleaning the house and taking care of their children. Once, she got very sick and did not know what to do. She said her life was filled with trouble. When she does not have anyone else to talk to, she calls me by phone and we talk for a long time. She would cry, but I would keep telling her to keep praying and that the Lord will always be with her. Things will work out even though we do not know how it will work out. Jesus loves us and will help to keep our family together.
One day, she called me and told me that when she needed to talk to someone, I was always there for her. She thinks that praying is really helping her and that the Lord will provide some one to help her ease her problems. The Lord will look out for her. She told me that Jesus will help us and He will answer our prayers, even though sometimes we don’t notice that our prayers were answered. The Lord insulates us so that we do not have to worry about things.
Looking back over this experience, I felt wonderful. I felt the power of God upon us and witnessed how God transforms suffering into peace. We continue talking to each other and I am glad that I can help her. She is really my friend. I thank the Lord that I can help my friend and make her feel good. I also feel good when I see her happy. Things are slowly working out..