♦ My wife spent most of last week with her sister’s kids as Darlene had gallbladder surgery. The Pankonin family has had enormous challenges this past year. The birth of a Down Syndrome child, learning how to minister to his special needs, traveling to multiple appointments has stretched them (Caleb just turned one year old and he is a beautiful joyful bundle), and the tragic loss of a beloved brother. Now on top of all this came a surgery which is basically going to take several weeks for Darlene to recover from. As they are a home school family, these challenges have put them behind. So, to help out, Loretta entered into an arrangement with Jason and Darlene to go to New Ulm twice a week to help out with school.
♦ I mention this because no man lives or dies unto themselves. The life of one impacts the life of others. Your life and mine has a direct impact on those around us. As we live in a fallen world, things like computers and gallbladders don’t always work right. The world would be such a fearful and lonely place if we had to face adversity alone. But, praise be to God! With Christ and each other, we are not alone. The person who is truly alone is the one who cannot see beyond their nose to the needs of someone else. Ministry to another human being does not have to be extraordinary or costly. It can be as simple as quenching a fellow pilgrim’s thirst.
“And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” Matthew 10:42
♦ Yesterday after church, I asked Jason to give me some insight on how he was doing with these multiple major upheavals all in a relatively short period of time. He told me he could not believe how the Lord had paved a highway through the adversity and was leading them each step of the way. Though it is in no way a fun experience, he was marveling how the Lord was making his path easy through adversity.
♦ To carry burdens too big for us to carry is to put ourselves in a place of depression, crippling us from making positive steps forward. This is why Jesus tells us to
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.
May we yoke up with Jesus,
Pastor John Schofield
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