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Are You Available?May has a number of significant events, both church and national. We have Mother’s Day, Pentecost, Christian Family Week, and Memorial Day. It could give a preacher whip-lash, trying to figure out how, what and where to focus on. I’ve been thinking about this a lot as we prepared and planned for this month. It has occurred to me that one thing these all have in common is being available. The best Mothers are available to their children, whether they work outside the home or are stay at home Moms. Of course, in the most effective families and Christian homes, both parents are available to their children. In some homes, this means just being a cook, referee or chauffer, but surely it’s more. Being available as a parent means being in conversation with their children as much as possible and listening to what’s said and not said all the time. Being available on the big things may depend on their availability when there’s a little boo-boo needing a band-aid. My Mother always worked outside the home and did so until and even after she retired. I can’t ever remember a time when I felt she wasn’t available to me. So what about Pentecost? The disciples had said they were going back home to fish after the crucifixion of Jesus, then he told them to go back to Jerusalem and wait and they did just that. They would have never heard the wind or seen the flames of the Holy Spirit, even metaphorically, if they hadn’t been available. God had plans for them to begin the Church and God needed to empower them to do so, but if they hadn’t been willing to wait on God, it wouldn’t have happened the way it did. We can learn a lot from those folks. God still wants to use us to do God’s will, but we must be empowered to do so. Shall we ask our mirrors if we are really available? I guess the second question is, are we available on God’s timetable, not just ours? As we celebrate Memorial Day, we must surely be grateful to those of our countrymen, who were available to give their all for our country. Let us not soon forget the sacrifice made by so many. Let us also remember their families who made the ultimate sacrifice of the life of a loved one. These men and women were and are available to serve as their country has need of them. Why might we, as Christians, whether parents, family members, or civil servants need to be available? I would say it is simply to be in service to God. God wants to empower each of us to be a witness of the love and grace of God. God will send the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and then it is up to us to be available to share that with others. We are the vessels to let God’s love and grace pour through us. The following passage might give us guidance as to how that works: Will YOU be available to be a conduit of God’s Spirit? Blessing to you, Rev Gail revgailt@bellsouth.net Home | History | Directions | Contact Us | North Georgia Conference UMC | Webmaster Lawrenceville Road United Methodist Church Rev. Gail Thompson, Pastor 3142 Lawrenceville Hwy., Tucker, GA 30084 Phone: (770) 939-3717 | Fax: (770) 939-5625 | E-mail: revgailt@bellsouth.net ©2002 Lawrenceville Road United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved. Last updated May 6, 2008 |