First, I will set the context. Two weeks ago Monday I was having a really bad day. It was my day off and I found myself in a dark, miserable mood, full of resentment about the bike co-op renovations for a variety of reasons. Then I got word that the roof drains had burst and the night’s rain had thoroughly soaked the prayer room. Whenever things get this bad, I know the Lord is turning up the volume because I am not hearing what he is saying. So Monday evening I sat down to listen, and he told me that my focus was all wrong. I was caught up in the renovations rather than focused on ministry, frustrated at the pace of the work because I felt like the work needed to be done for the ministry to flourish. So get my heart off the renovations and onto ministry!
With this refreshed focus on Tuesday, the co-op started coming to life as a mother came in to sign her son up for the bike repair course, Community Options for Justice called and asked if we could take two of their youth needing to work off hours, and a street youth I connected with came up the street on his broken bike. In so many ways the Lord was affirming that ministry was ready to move forward. Also, Frank Laaper came forward to drywall, bringing with him a young man struggling with alcoholism. We had a chance to pray over him and speak life and the Father’s love into him. Then the plumber’s assistant, Perry, found out what we do and offered to do the plumbing for the bike co-op on his own time. He would eventually share his tattoo/story of how he is currently a year and a half clean and how God has set him free from the angel of death (aka his drug addiction). So as we focused on ministry, God started bringing labourers to move the work forward. And even the work opened doors to ministry! (I have been able to pray over Perry and encourage him to see his Father more clearly.)
So today …
I get to work and find that the plumber (not Perry, the assistant) has offered to do the drains and drain venting for the shop—a task well beyond Perry’s expertise. So he taught Perry what to do, and paid him to spend his day doing our drains. What generosity! Then Chris showed up. Chris is a grade 11 high school student that has been spending the day with us since last Saturday when his parents came into the shop; I toured them around and an hour later their son showed up and has been putting in full days with us ever since. Frank taught him drywalling yesterday, so the last couple of days Chris has been finishing off our drywall. A little later our three high school students showed up for the bike repair course. One of them, Brandon (a new boy at the shop), is already really good with bikes, so when an older fellow, Danny, came in for a bike repair, I asked if Brandon could show him how to take his back wheel off. Brandon seemed to light up at the invitation. As I am teaching Danny how to true his wheel, we have a chance to talk about faith. He says it does not matter what we have faith in, and he sorta likes the Hindu idea that our good deeds are weighed against our bad at death; I respond that I don’t like the idea, because only a bad father would love his children on condition that they do more good than bad, and since we all fail at being good, it matters more that my heart is wholly dedicated to being a loving son of my Father in appreciation for how great his love is for me. Danny would go on to offer his time and skills to the renovation; he is handy and fast at many aspects of renovation. (God provides!) And while I am talking to Danny, Sheldon from Hudson’s Furniture has come searching for me. A young woman was at his shop looking for help, and she seemed confused and maybe on drugs; is there some way I could help her? (I am thrilled our business neighbours see us as people to turn to when needy people show up.) Send her to us! Amy is indeed confused, but I ask if I can pray for her. She says sure, but then says, “Why would you pray?” “Because the Father loves you, and can do things to help us that are way beyond our ability to help ourselves or help each other.” Meanwhile, an employee of the Rock Pit comes into the shop and says there is a woman in an electric tricycle who needs her rear view mirror adjusted; could we help? A quick fix and she is on her way, grateful for the help. Just doing good neighbour stuff.
I kept it all as one paragraph to convey something of the breathless layering of it all. That’s my “day in the life of”.
So, it is a good idea to listen when God speaks on a really bad day.
Dave Steenburg – Open Sky Bike Co-op, YFC/Youth Unlimited Woodstock