Ms. Doris
I wanted to share with you about a very sweet soul at Mercy House. Her name is Ms. Doris and she runs our clothes closet. She is the one that sorts through our donations, organizes all the clothes and shoes and makes sure we have what we need to best serve West Montgomery. She does all of this work with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. I am not exaggerating when I say that she radiates the love of Christ. I have never heard her complain and she lives out 1 Thessalonians 5:18 better than anyone I know. Today, I sat down with her and asked her to share with me about how God led her here and what she thinks God is teaching her about serving the neighbors on Council street. The wisdom she shared was simple and words that I feel Jesus himself would have shared. Please allow me to share 4 things that Ms. Doris shared about being the hands of Christ.
She found a place to serve and wanted nothing in return. She wanted to love God through loving others. Knowing that she was fulfilling God’s great commandment to love her neighbor as herself means so much to her. When you are doing the Father’s work, He blesses you with a fulfilling purpose.
Sharing God’s love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is our highest calling and we need to treat it as such. Never miss an opportunity to share how good God is to all His children. We can grow numb to the lifesaving information Jesus brings. We must keep pushing forward with God’s invitation of eternal life with Him. People’s lives depend on it.
When God’s work gets hard, keep going. He didn’t quit on us when it got hard for Him and we must stand firm in the faith that God will renew our strength each day. There are people that are praying big prayers that help is coming… we can’t miss these opportunites to be an answer to their prayers.
(This one really hit me hard) It is important to remember that those that she is serving could just as easily have been herself. We must humble ourselves through the knowledge that God could have placed each one of us on this hard path praying for mercy but instead He placed us in a position to be able to serve and care for the least and the lost.
I asked Ms. Doris what she would say to people who were feeling God’s urging to serve but don’t know where to start. Her advice leaves little room for misunderstanding. “Come on, show up and step out in faith.” Mercy House is always in need of others who are thankful for the person that allowed them to experience the Gospel of Jesus Christ and now want to be that person for someone else.
Mercy House is blessed to have Ms. Doris. She is always pointing others to Jesus. Whether she is filling clothing requests, making sure the children have school uniforms or finding a new baby a blanket, she is serving with a bigger purpose in mind. Along with the rest of the staff here, she is doing all she can to make sure that when they feel her love and care, they are actually experiencing the love and care of Jesus himself. And that is the kind of love that will change a life.
God Bless,
Pastor Ken Austin