Help Wanted

Dear Father,

You have said that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, and that we should, therefore, ask you to send workers into the field for harvest. So that is what I am doing today. I ask that you would raise up more workers and send them to gather in the harvest you are preparing all over the world, but I am also specifically asking that you would send workers to your field here in the Cornerstone GriefShare ministry.

I believe that you have a harvest ready within the Madison, Ohio area, a harvest of people who are grieving a loved one's death. I know you want us to minister to the people around us, reaching out and meeting their needs. You have made it clear that if we are to follow you, we are to meet the needs of the people you place in our path. ("One who is gracious to a poor man, lends to the Lord..." Prov. 19:17; "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward" Matt. 10:42; "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matt. 25:40; ""The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Heb. 6:10)

I know from my own experience with grief and from talking to many people who have lost a loved one that there are many needs during that time: physical needs, such as help doing a chore that had previously been done by their loved one or a meal brought to them because they are not able to function well enough to remember to eat; emotional needs, such as the need to tell the story of their loss and feel like someone is really listening to them, or the need to know that they are not the only one to experience the feelings that they are going through; and spiritual needs, such as the need to hear about God's love and care for them, if they have not previously heard the Good News, or the need to talk to a supportive person who can listen to them as they try to make sense of a situation that doesn't appear to make any sense, as they may be struggling with why God did not seem to answer their prayers for healing.

I believe that GriefShare is a good vehicle for helping to meet the needs of the grieving within our community: those within our own church body (for should we not be taking care of the needs of our own body), even those within other nearby churches who may not have access to this type of ministry in their own church (for we are all one body in you), and to those people who have not come to know you yet, Lord, because they are in the worst position of all - they need YOU primarily, and they also have all the additional needs of grief. I believe that the time after the death of a loved one is a time when many people are more open to hearing about you, Father, and I ask that you would help us to reach out in your name during that time, so that many more would come to know you. I truly believe that is the very best thing we have to give.

So, Father, please bring workers to this field. I ask that you would be working in the hearts of those who you would have help in this ministry. Please lead them and help them to know if this is something you are calling them to. For those that you are calling to this ministry, please empower them to do the work of the ministry. Give them the courage to take that step in faith that you will help them to do what they may not feel capable of doing in their own strength.

For those of you who are reading and praying with me, I ask that you would pray that God would show you if this is a ministry that he would want you to be involved in. Especially if you have experienced the death of a loved one, ask him if he wants to use that experience that you've been through to help others and to be able to share the comfort that you recieved from God during that time.

Also, Father, I pray that you would help me and Nathan who have been faciliating the GriefShare meetings and Liz (who is the new coordinator for Cornerstone's "Care Ministries," as well as any others who have been involved in helping with GriefShare, to find creative ways to let people know about GriefShare and that you would guide us as we ask others to be involved in this ministry. Please give us guidence about who you would want us to talk to or whether there are any other ways you would like us to get the word out that we could use more people on our team to work in the grief ministry.

Help me to have more faith, Lord, that you will bring the people that you want to work with this ministry and that you will help each of us to do whatever it is that you are calling us to do. I do believe you can provide whatever we need, but sometimes I let doubts creep in (in all areas of my life), not trusting you as fully as I should. I ask that you continue to increase my faith.

Thank you for all that you have been doing and for all you are planning to do through this grief ministry, and thank you for the privilige you have given me to serve you in this way.

Amen

Cornerstone Friends Church www.cfcmadison.org

GriefShare www.griefshare.org