This afternoon I met up with one of our church members. The person sent me an e-mail about wanting to meet up before they left for their new job position in another city. Even though life is busy, whenever it is one of those “last” meetings, I try to make it a priority to meet up.
After hearing all about the new job and some of the transitions that they were going to go through, the person ended up thanking me and the church for all that we have done to make an impact in their life.
To be honest, I can’t take any of the credit because there were so many other people who have invested more into this person’s life. This is the beauty of partnership in the Gospel. As I do my part and others do their part, we work together to see transformation in one life at a time.
As I was walking back to the office, I couldn’t help but to think about the story where ten people were healed of leprosy, but only one came back to thank Jesus (Lk 17:11-19). It is amazing how a simple “thank you” really expresses a lot of what is going on in a person’s heart.
This person didn’t have to meet up with me (in fact a lot of people don’t, before they leave), but they wanted to express their heart of gratitude and joy and it really made all the difference.
It is always sad seeing people come and go, but something we always say here at HMCC is: “Our loss is someone else’s gain.”