The Words of the Huish Family
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The Words of the Huish Family |
I jumped onto the DLR between Lewisham and Stratford yesterday to join some brothers doing some witnessing to promote an event taking place at midday this Saturday (at Ithaca House on the Romford Road, just in case you'd like to attend). Any journey on the DLR tends to be more scenic than the underground, and as the train approached Stratford I was able to see the progress taking place to prepare for the London 2012 Olympics.
When I found Simon and Jeff, we agreed to do about 20 mins of leafleting and outreach before meeting to discuss some issues in McDonald's. Although I've been doing street-witnessing at least once a week for the past month or two, this morning I suddenly found myself struggling to get going. I walked along the street just looking at people, always hesitating to make an approach. Once I reached the corner of the road, I decided to sit on a public bench and gather my thoughts, or rather empty my thoughts. I realized that my mind was overwhelmed with many thoughts and concerns, deadlines, people to call, jobs to do etc. What I needed to do was realize that God accepts me and would accept any offering I make in that moment if I chose to offer it sincerely. After all, none of my other concerns would be addressed there and then.
I breathed in ("I'm alive") and then breathed out ("thank you"). I counted my blessings (too many to count, actually) and remembered that I really want people to share what I have. I spent the remaining ten minutes walking up and down the street rehearsing my approach in my head, so that once I finally start speaking with people, I'll know where I want the discussion to lead.
Jeff bought me a coffee and chocolate brownie at McDonald's (both of which were surprisingly good) during our meeting with Simon. Jeff shared that witnessing was the hardest thing he's done in the last decade, qualifying that statement by considering the spiritual challenge of reaching out to people's hearts. In my experience, it's not very hard to stop a stranger on the street and have a jolly conversation; the difficulty is in sensing and addressing that person's spiritual needs.
Back on the street, Simon asked me if we could approach people together. The area in front of Stratford library was reasonably busy yet not too noisy, and now I was able to speak with people freely. After handing out a few fliers, however, Simon confessed that now he needed a couple minutes to prayerfully reflect and get his mind together. As he sat at the entrance to Morrison's, I continued approaching people. Very soon, Simon rediscovered his inspiration and purpose and we enjoyed the rest of the hour meeting some of the lovely people of Stratford. With the national witnessing campaign coming up, I guess many of us will experience a moment or two of nervous apprehension, experienced by Simon and me today. It happens to the best of us, eh? I don't think it's a sign of doubt or faithlessness, rather it shows that we take witnessing seriously and, while we recognize our personal shortcomings, we're willing to offer ourselves to Heavenly Father and the absolute good spirit world to work with us to reach people so they can also share the blessings we enjoy.