Often I am all about getting the task done and miss many ministry opportunities. What if I really was ALL there? Shirley Moses, today’s guest blogger, is an author, speaker, and founder of Beyond the Call Ministries . Read her story of how she allowed God to help her be “all there” to serve Him in a unique and meaningful way!
Every year we go with our good friends to the beach. Both our husbands love to cook, so we don’t have to lift a finger for a whole week. If they do not cook, we go out and it really is a time for me just to Be There. We go out for breakfast at least once.
One time, we pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant. The first thing I noticed was the person in the car next ours looked as if she had spent the night in her car. After being seated in the restaurant, I realized I was there for a reason other than just to eat. As I scanned the room, my eyes were drawn to this one young lady. It was clear she was in training; she had a very scared look on her face. She also had a very low cut t-shirt on. As you can imagine, this was not a big hit with most of the ladies at the tables she waited on. As I looked at my friend, no words were needed; she was in tune with me on this. We both knew we were not there by chance. Since our husbands were discussing what they would order, they had no idea as to what was going on.
Then it happened. The Holy Spirit began prompting me to talk with this girl. My eyes continued to follow her around the room. With each table, you could see that she became more discouraged. The more I watched her, the more intense the prompting became. It no longer was the still small voice, but it was as if Holy Spirit was using a megaphone. It was almost time to leave, and I knew I had to act quickly – our husbands were ready to leave. I quietly told my husband to go ahead; I would be there shortly. I approached the girl cleaning off the table, and I could see much sadness in her face.
"I have been watching you and I can see you are sad." She agreed, saying the women were rude when she gave them their food. I put my hand on her back and said, "My dear, you have an adorable figure but your blouse is too low and the women don’t like it." She replied, "I didn’t want to wear this blouse but my boyfriend put me out of the apartment and I had to spend the night in my car." So..she was the girl I saw! She went on to say, "This is my first day working here and it is not going well at all." I took her hand and said, "You will do just fine. But when you can, go to your car and find another blouse to wear."
With that I turned and left, not really wanting to leave her but not wanting to draw attention to her. My friends were waiting in the car. After quickly relaying all that had happened, my BFF gave me a $20 bill and told me to take it to her. I have to admit I didn’t want to go back in; but again, the Holy Spirit had different plans.
I went back in and saw her cleaning the same table. I approached her once again and laid the money on the table and said, “Here. Take this. It is a gift from Jesus” and once again took hold of her hand and prayed for her. I turned to leave and big tears flowed down her cheeks.
As I got in our car and we began to leave, I looked up and she was coming out, going toward her car. She began to dig through all the clothes looking for another blouse. In my mind came the thought, Wherever You Are, Be All There. Here are just a few things God showed me that day:
Be ready for God to use you wherever you are.
Be not afraid to do what God asks of you.
Wherever YOU Are, Be ALL There!
Shirley Moses is an author, speaker, Women’s Ministry Team Advisor at Hagerman Baptist Church in Sherman, Texas, and founder of Beyond the Call Ministries . Women’s Ministry Consultant Formerly she served as the women’s ministry consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. She also serves currently as a Lifeway Ministry Multiplier, helping train women’s ministry leaders across the country. Shirley contributed to Lifeway’s leadership book, Transformed Lives: Taking Women’s Ministry to the Next Level and is co-author of Heart Friends: Beginning and Maintaining a Small Accountability Group. Shirley has completed her Advanced Certificate of Women’s Ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
