Living Stones / June 8 2007

( Church Planting In Croatia )

http://valjak.blogspot.com/

One of the real joys of Church planting work is the diversity of experiences that one has with people. There is an elderly lady in my apartment block who is coming, quite rapidly to the end of her life. I took some food to her and sat down next to her. Her face with all its character lines said more about the life she had lead than any stories she had to tell. She had been a religious woman and probably would get a good merit medal if the church handed them out. What was striking though was the sense of total loneliness. A cold, sad and empty loneliness. Sometimes I feel lonely as a single mother. In fact the loneliness can really become a side track that has to be cast on the Lord, or I can become too self focused. But this dear soul was experiencing a level of loneliness that can not easily be understood. I tried to reach out but her pride was so deep that the barriers to be loved were very high. In the end I held her hand and together we recited the Lords prayer. When I think of her I realize that there are no easy answers to so many of the deep issues that we face in peoples lives.

Then this week one of our Church members was in hospital with Pneumonia. She is in her twenties and has been a heroin addict since she was thirteen years old. Unlike the old lady she was like an open book.....sometimes like an open wound....... but so desirous to be loved and guided into deeper spiritual reality. Sitting by her bed and praying with her created within me the sense of mystery of it all. Here was a big sinner with a wide open heart soaking up whatever I could give her. in comparison my dear elderly friend was a good person by the standards of religion and yet she was so closed.

Then I come home to another reality. The refrigerator that was full just hours ago is now all but empty. How can two young men consume such large amounts of food and still manage to walk down the street. When I try to talk to them about budgets the look on their faces tells me that I am better off communicating to Pharisees and sinners. I look out of the window and smile.

1Peter 2:5 You, too, as living stones, are building yourselves up into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, so that you may offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Anita Valjak