Lean on Me!

I noticed this morning in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal what seemed to me to be a larger than usual number of obituaries. A quick survey of the Intell's obituary column of the past week confirmed my observation. Today's column listed 26 individuals, ranging in age from 17 to 93. What got my attention was that three of these individuals who died were in their fifty's (one of which was MY age!) and two others were in their forty's.

Now you might be wondering why I was reading the obituaries. Well I don't do it for the reason that some people give - to check to be sure their obit is not in the paper! So why do I read the obits? Having lived here in Lancaster for almost 19 years, I have become acquainted with many people. So I look to see if there is someone I "know." Someone I can pray for ... someone whose family I might be able to reach out and touch with the love of Jesus.

This is what Jesus calls us to do, isn't it. In Galatians 6:2 we are called upon to "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Coming along side of a hurting person is one way to help carry their burden. Next fall here at Grace, we will be offering Stephen Ministry training for anyone who wants to become better equipped to do just that - help a person who is burdened to carry whatever it is that is weighing them down. To find out more about Stephen Ministry, click on the Stephen Ministry tab on our home page.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj