Gaylon and I met a couple a while back. We have had the pleasure of sharing dinner with them. Joshua is the pastor Cowboy Church not far from us. They are a nice couple, doing the work of the Lord. Lauren is the wife and she recently wrote this, and I asked permission to use it. Lauren is not a “stage” person. God needs a whole lot of Christians who are not “stage” people, but people simply willing to be used by God. Thank you, Lauren, for this great reminder.

Let me preface this by saying, this is not to make anyone think highly of Joshua or myself. We do not want praise for any of it, we do not deserve it, all praise belongs to God and God alone. But I want to share a story in hopes that, if you feel a little like me, this might help shift your perspective and encourage you.

If you know my husband, you know he is a talker. Anyone, anywhere, anytime, about anything, he can talk. He has the gift of gab, which is good considering he is a pastor and his ‘day job’ is sales. You have to be able to talk to do those jobs. If you know me, you know I am the opposite. I am an anxiety riddled introvert that struggles to hold conversation with people I do know, much less people I do not.

Today Joshua met a man while at his day job that, to make a long story short, is having a hard time. He was living in his truck until it got impounded and has been sleeping in the woods in Irondale for several days. Joshua felt convicted to talk to him, so he did. Learned a little bit about him and how he ended up where he was. He told Joshua he was doing some odd jobs to try to get enough money to buy a tent until a family member was able to come pick him up from Mississippi. He texted me to tell me about it and I said, ‘Didn’t we buy a tent a few years ago that we’ve never used?’ Again, to make a long story shorter, yes, we did and we had a sleeping bag too. So, I packed the bag. Tent, sleeping bag, a blanket, and some nonperishable snacks. Joshua comes back home to pick it up and takes it back to him. He is grateful, we are thankful we were able to help even in a small way, all is well. And all I had to do was pack a bag.

See, I am not great at talking to people, and as a Christian, and especially as a pastor’s wife, I have always felt a little guilty about that. And sometimes the Lord gets my attention when He needs to and sometimes it puts me in a situation that is uncomfortable for me, and that is fine. But so much more often, He only asks me to pack the bag. Your calling may not put you on a stage with a mic in your hand, and that is ok. Your calling may be behind the scenes, in the background, and sometimes you may feel like you are not doing enough because what you are doing does not look like what someone else is doing. But somebody has to pack the bag. So, if you feel like me today or any other time, I hope this encourages you. Doing what God has called you to do matters and is for a purpose. And if all He has asked you to do is pack the bag, then do it and rest in the assurance that you are exactly where you are supposed to be.