My Aunt’s Bummer Ministry – Mark 4:18-20

Aunt Eileen had what she called her “bummer ministry,” giving free haircuts to the church’s teenagers. I felt singing with the worship team didn’t have long-lasting value either.

My aunt saw hair clippings fall to the floor in her kitchen. And when I sang, it seemed my voice dissipated like mist in front of my face. Poof! Gone forever. Where was the work with dramatic results, like when I prayed with a child to receive Jesus as his Savior?

Use your words

In 2001 Jerry and I bought tickets to go on a mission trip to India. Surely we would be a part of something large and wonderful after investing so much for the trip. But as I stood on the school platform in Delhi with the lights blinding my eyes and the sound system checking out as we sang, I felt I wasn’t doing any good at all.

The last day of the trip, however, a pastor’s wife pulled me aside and asked me to teach her one of the worship songs. She was concerned she’d lose touch with something that had meant so much to her.

Words can do more than we realize

I hadn’t given the pastor’s wife dissipating mist. She’d received nourishment for her very soul.

Hadn’t God spoken and caused light, substance, and life to happen? His words created planets, brine shrimp, springtime, sunsets, cockatoos, and volcanoes, and since I’m made in his image, my voice can also have an impact.

As for Aunt Eileen, the haircuts she gave demonstrated how she loved God in everything she did. They also held her audience captive for twenty minutes while she shared Jesus’ story with them!

Her son Tommy Walker wrote a song which sweetly expresses the heart’s hunger for God’s word. I’ve been playing it over and over for weeks. It’s called Speak the Word.

Here’s a link:

Never underestimate the power of your words.

by Kathy Davis