My Origami Crane Blessing

Regarding Elders... the Bible says the following in Titus 5:8-9

"Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it."

I am very fortunate to have many loving and caring "elders" in my life. This week I received an envelope in the mail containing a beautiful handmade origami crane and a thoughtful card from my Maryland church's Connection Pastor, Earl. I don't know many churches that have a Connection Pastor, but I think they all should... Earl preaches the occasional Sunday, but most Sunday's he's worshiping along with the rest of the congregation. His "real" work happens daily in meetings with anyone and everyone. It can be over coffee, tea, lunch, or dinner... if you need someone to listen, he's there. Earl is a master at social networking (think: facebook/twitter) but his favorite times are what he calls "3D Interaction." All of us could use more of that in our life. Sitting face-to-face, truly discussing what is going on in our lives, dining together, laughing together, crying together... experiencing life together.

My crane is #21 out of 1,000 that Earl has decided to make and bless people with. Under the wing he wrote a specific pray for me: "With prayer's for God's blessing of grace and peace to pour in and through your life."

It's amazing what one piece of mail can do- a simple note, gift, and prayer... it's been a rough couple of weeks dealing with the housing issue and trying to find my place here. Thank you Earl and thank you God for putting this goal of 1,000 blessings on Earl's heart and giving him the confidence to carry it out.

My prayer is that I can impact others the same way Earl is.