Ministry

Last Sunday we had a wonderful missionary at our church, John Cook who is ministering in Canada. He spoke about finding the ministry that God has for you to do. Mostly it was focused on being a missionary. But it could be applied to any christian who is seeking to do God's will. I think one of the things that he said was very important and this is it in a nutshell: You won't get a burden in the church, you have to go out and see the need. I thought about that for a long time and have to agree with him.
I am prone to "guilt-trips" and was on one Sunday night when Brother Cook was preaching this message. I began to think that I wasn't in God's will because I work outside of the home. For the last few months I have been thinking it would be so much easier to stay home. Work has not been as much fun this year as it has been the last three years. So, I was feeling guilty about being there. However, the truth is that my job is a ministry that God gave to me. I fully believe that with all my heart.
From the time our daughter was born until the day she graduated from high-school I have been a "stay-at-home" mom. There were times when I worked on a short-term basis, but it was only for a few weeks at a time. I believe God's word that says that the young women are to be keepers at home. It was such a blessing when I realized that my home was my number one ministry. But when our daughter went to college I went with her and finally obtained my associate degree. (It had only taken me 25 years to finish what I had started when I was 18.)
Once I graduated from college, I knew that the Lord had another ministry for me outside of the home as a para-educator. I just didn't know where nor when. And I was content to just wait.
It didn't take long for God to open the door and tell me to walk on through. When I interviewed for the job, I knew that this was the one. When I was offered the position, I knew this was the one. And when I began the job, I knew that this was the one that God had chosen for me.
The thing that had become "wrong" with my job was that I had forgotten that it truly was a ministry from the Lord and for the Lord. It wasn't "My Job", it was "my ministry". And last Sunday night the Lord reminded me of that fact.