Since I've been thinking about nursing home ministry, it reminded me of my BBC internship in Fillmore, NY. One of the activities I did was help and/or lead the Bible study at the nursing home near Houghton College. It was a great bunch of folks. One guy in particular was a favorite of mine. Every week, at the end of the service, he'd shake my hand and give me a word of encouragement. He complimented me a lot...so I figured...'this guy is pretty sharp' (funny how pride sneaks up on ya)
One day I was leading a Bible study about the return of Christ. As usual his hand found mine afterwords and he told me it was a great lesson and that he was certainly looking forward to Christ's return. He told me he really sensed the Spirit teaching through me and that God was going to use me greatly.
I took some of the ladies back to their rooms, and started toward the exit. I was thinking pretty highly of myself. 'Boy, I'm really communicating well. Some of these people get confused easily and yet they are understanding exactly what I'm saying! I'm just super.'
As I walked outside toward my car, the good old hand shaker was there talking to a friend who hadn't attended Bible study that week. He waved for me to come over and then told his friend, 'Here he is....the boy I was telling you about...the Messiah!'
I learned 2 things that day.
1. That guy wasn't as sharp as I thought
2. I wasn't as great as I thought :)
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