I have to say that this week wasn't an easy one for me (not that every other week has been complete "pie in the sky" - though there has been pie consumption involved, of the apple variety). Mid-way through I started feeling sick and I spent the rest of the week either in bed or feeling like my head weighed a hundred pounds. It wasn't fun. And with the ill health came low spirits, which in my opinion might have been worse.
Friday night, things started to turn around... Friday is the last night for the guests so we do our final fireside service which includes time for them to share anything that's on their mind about the week. I'd been given permission to take a nap late that afternoon and probably could've just slept through till morning, but I really wanted to be at fireside so I moseyed (yay for ranch lingo) on down there, and I'm glad I did. Guest after guest stood up to say what an incredible time they'd had all week, how they'd been ministered to by God and through others in special and life-changing ways. It's hard to capture in words the atmosphere of a Friday night fireside. Just place yourself around a fire at dusk, surrounded by people you dearly love, with a majestic mountain peak in the background; peacefulness and thanksgiving fill the air.
Now it's not like I hadn't been to any other firesides, but this one stood out to me because it was a clear reminder of why we do what we do. We (the staff) aren't serving here because it's the best paying job or the easiest job - we serve here because we have a love for God and people and the work He's doing in their lives. And playing even just a small part in that process is an incredible and humbling thing, something that makes each day and each task - no matter how small - very worth it.
And as I listened to all the testimonies from the guests that night, suddenly my aches and pains and discouraged thoughts just didn't seem all that important any more.
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