Where to start...so many hows? Not quite so many whys or whens.
Paul...relating to the listener about THEIR lives...engaging them in conversation about things THEY were familiar with. Jesus Himself, with the Samaritan women at the well....He knew her life...He knew what it was like...He knew what she believed...He knew what her struggles were. Jesus was able to engage her in a conversation that would lead to the truth he wanted to share...life instead of death. Living Water instead of unsatisfying water. The key here is knowing the person or the people to whom you are going to be relating to.
So here is my question...if my passion is for women...mom's...with small children, struggling to make it either emotionally or spiritually (I probably wouldn't be so good on the finanial end ) how do I get to know their needs? How do I get to know their lives? I've lived my 22 years as a follower of Jesus Christ in a cacoon. I have a believeing husband, believing friends, believing children...how does a person like me learn the struggles of an abused woman? How does a woman like me learn the ins and outs of drug abuse or being evicted from your home? How does a woman like me walk into a shelter for women and be able to relate? I want to understand. I want to be able to empathize with the struggles, not just sympatize. So...HOW?
As we open our home to the foster care system I want to be ready. Will we get the opportunity to know the moms? Will we be able to understand the pain of a child in the middle of total upheaval? I don't know. I understand divorce...from both the child's and the adult's perspective...but even in that, there was no ...well, maybe there was. I understand alcoholism from a distant perspective. I've lived through a murder in the family...I've seen children taken from their mother by the state...I've helped a young teen pursue her childhood dreams...maybe that's a start.
I want to move in the direction of God's leading. I don't want to hesitate. My passion....my love for hurting women and their children is there. I would do it every day if the need arose. So how do I know them...or know about them so I can meet them where they are? How do I meet them where they are so Jesus can bring them to where He is? How?
