Your Family an Incarnational Community
August 14, 2009
Here is an encouraging story I recently received from a good friend of mine. She is the mother of four whose husband works for Sprint. Their family is part of a missional community wrestling to discover what it looks like in tangible ways to be a representation of God’s Kingdom on earth now.
“Over four years ago our small group from church decided that it would be great to go and serve together. We set up a date to bring a meal to the Ronald McDonald House, and since then have come back every month to help out. ( provides a temporary home for families with children who are critically ill or seriously injured) Through the years we have become friends with several families who call Ronald McDonald House their home away from home. One of my favorite stories to share about RMH is the night my 5 year old son, Cooper, was playing with a little boy who has cancer and was undergoing chemo. They were laughing and pretending to jump like frogs when the little boy began to cough and wanted his mother to hold him. Cooper then reached up and began to rub his back to calm him. He was learning what it meant to “be Jesus” someone in pain.. The mother looked at me with tears in her eyes and my heart broke for this family.
Another image that sticks in my mind is Dave going around the room loving each and every one of the families who are there. You can see the pain and confused look in the parent’s eyes as they struggle to make sense of suffering their child is enduring. But Dave sits with each one of them. He doesn’t say much, but he listens a lot. With great compassion, he enters into their pain. As he listen’s he writes down their name and prayer request. Sometimes he prays for them then and there but usually he brings the request to the next time our small group gathers and there we will remember and pray for the families together. As I continue to look around the room at RMH I’m encouraged as I see my family and friends “being Jesus” to these families who are going through circumstances too horrible for my mind to fully understand. I pray that somehow the small acts of love being performed by our small community of friends will somehow make a difference. What a blessing Ronald McDonald House is to us all.”
What strikes you about this story?
How do you imagine experiences like going to Ronald McDonald House will shape and form young kids like Cooper?
Comments
Got something to say?
-
Subscribe To MO
