Hungry and Thirsty

This morning, our pastor preached a sermon related to the mission trip to Gulfport, Mississippi, that he and several church members took three weeks ago. They were there to assist in the relief effort following Hurricane Katrina.

In opening his sermon, he told of being asked by people both within and outside our congregation why he personally went on mission trips like this one. He said he went "because he couldn't NOT go."

When I heard those words, the level on my guiltmeter started to rise. When the trip had been announced to our congregation shortly after Katrina hit, I didn't feel utterly compelled to go. Was there something wrong with me, something defective in my values?

He went on to say that he went to these places because they are where Jesus is. "Where people are hungry, Jesus is there," he said. "Where people are thirsty, Jesus is there."

Again, that pang of guilt troubled me. Did I make any effort to be where people were hungry and thirsty?

It was then that a voice that could only have been God's said, "You're already there. You are with two people who are hungry and thirsty no less than five times a day." It was the first time that it had occurred to me that parenting is a ministry to those in need. And it was a joy--and a relief from my omnipresent guilt!--to think of it that way.