Little Things
By Greg Lunsford --
We cannot express how much we are missing gathering with you all. I am blown away by how well you are staying connected with one another and the missional hearts you have during this time. Last Saturday, our Food Pantry kicked off again to serve those in need of food. If you have an interest in serving, I encourage you to reach out to Janice Fry (
). The Food Pantry team has done an outstanding job of placing safeguards for those that are serving and receiving the food. Also, if you know of someone in need, send them our way Saturdays at 1:30pm!
Last week, Caris sent an email to her worship team and Lee Ballard replied with a wonderful story about how he was able to love like Jesus during this pandemic and, with his permission, he is allowing us to share that with you for this week's blog. So without further adieu, take it away Lee!
(excerpt from Lee Ballard's email)
“I'm praying for all you extrovert types. It's been hard on me not seeing y'all's faces, so I expect it's going to be a rough April for all you who aren't so accustomed to the sound of thoughts bouncing off the inside of your skulls. I'm also praying that our interactions with people--our neighbors, family, friends, that random distraught homeless person (now, there's a tale for you), and ourselves--at this time is kind and patient. Hang in there!
At any rate, here's the story about the distraught homeless man. My wife Teresa and I are out here in Parkrose, and around Rocky Butte have had a growing population of homeless people; there's plenty of campsites for them in the woods around the Grotto. I've gotten to know some of them on my anxiety-filled walks this past year. (I'm sure I've looked like I was homeless on at least one occasion recently.) On garbage days, a few of them come by and look through our recyclables. If I think about it, I leave can and pop bottles on the top for them. The other day, as I was putting it out to the curb, this fellow came down our road pushing a ratty, old baby carriage full of...well, stuff and yelling to high heaven about our president closing down restaurants. I'll spare you the details, but it was incoherent, angry and fear-ridden. When he saw me, he made right for me and screamed at me about his plans to send threatening letters to the White House among other things. When the fellow realized that I wasn't going to bolt back inside, he went from an emotional 11 back down to a 6 or so. I listened to him for a good 15 minutes before he realized that I was indeed listening to him. He continued to calm down and by the end, he was blessing me with tales about a God who loved everyone and a Savior who saved him when he was at his worse. He told me that being homeless isn't as bad as being without Jesus. In the end, he told me his name, Peter, and shook my hand, his hand rough and dirty. With purpose and calm in his step, he pushed his baby carriage on down the street.
I'm a little embarrassed to say that I ran inside and washed my hands like I was prepping for surgery as soon as he left. I'm also not proud of the fact that all I wanted to do while listening to him was to run away, to callously tell him to bugger off. I felt a little ashamed that this smelly man had more faith than I did. My own anxiety and empathy for his mental plight nearly pushed me over the edge, but I think I was more blessed than he was. That's what we're called to do, I think: little things.” -Lee Ballard
I really admire Lee’s heart (and his amazing writing) to connect and love even in a time like this. A couple weeks ago, Caris led us in the song, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and the verse, “Morning by morning, new mercies I see”, really grabbed a hold of my heart.
This next week, I want to challenge us each morning to look for the new mercies and, like Lee, I bet they will come from unexpected places.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Greg