An Ear, A Shoulder And A Prayer

She unburdened her heart. So much pain on so many fronts. I could just listen. I had no words of wisdom or comforting cliches to offer. Just a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. She lay her head on my shoulder for awhile. A little time passed before I heard the sniffles. I softy asked, "Are you crying?" She replied in a broken voice weakly, "Yes."

I hugged her a little harder in the only ministry of comfort I knew to give at the time. Then I prayed for her. In the big of scene of things a hug and simple prayer may not mean that much. It is the best I had to offer at that moment. In addition to a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on, a simple prayer can be used of God produce a comfort of supernatural proportions. Many people do not have any of that.

They grope through the darkness of their life like a person stumbling in a pitch black forrest stumbling over stumps and tripping over hidden vines. The scrapes and bruises take their toll. Maybe the worst part is groping through the darkness of distress alone. There is no one to listen. No shoulder to cry on. Nobody to pray.

There is no way I can express her shattered heart or mine after hearing her unload her cares. A tale of such sorrow it made my heart hurt as deeply as hers. I saw no easy fixes. People have been hurt. Sinful actions have destroyed lives.

Sinful actions don't just affect the offender. Sinful actions hurt many people. In the wake of sin you can see scattered debris from shattered lives left behind. It is painful to watch. It is difficult to help such people pick up the pieces again. Society is filled with such people. Sadly, so are churches.

Each time we gather for worship and study broken people sit in those seats barely clinging to faith and hope. They too need a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. They could use a prayer for comfort and strength. They could use Jesus with some skin on.

Now, before you form the wrong opinion that woman I wrote about in the beginning is my wife. She has seen so many people she loves suffer in recent days. So many marriages falling apart. So many wounded friends. So much pain. Pain like a filet knife cutting away layers of insulation and comforts scraping against the nerve endings. Indescribable grief. Unconsolable sorrow. Gut wrenching nausea. A dreadful nightmare that is no dream at all but, the harsh new reality.

In such moments real ministry may be as simple as a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on and a simple prayer.