This morning I attended church at Clear Creek Community Church. I sat in a row with many of the usual characters whom I affiliate myself with and praised the good Lord whom I believe in. I listened as the sermon was given but couldn’t help but be distracted.

A group of five personnel occupied the row in front of us. Though they did not all seem to be related, they behaved in a manner that certainly caught my attention. As we praised the Lord with songs of worship I saw streams of tears flowing down their faces. We opened with prayers and thanksgiving for the lives we have been blessed with and prayers of focus on those in need. We continued to sing songs of worship and tears seemed to flow endlessly from three of the five.

I could see these five band together with arms and share each others pain and suffering through their eye contact. I could detect through their reactions to certain portions of the sermon how they’re lives have been devastated by Hurricane Ike. I could hear them lift their voices to the Lord in a plea for comfort and I could see the strain of their voices as they fought back the overwhelming emotions they were feeling.

Most of all, I could see their faith. I could see their dedication to the Lord. I could feel the sadness in their hearts be calmed by the words we sang. Then it happened. In the moment of our service where the offering was gathered, a time when I feel it is for those who have not suffered devastation from this storm, this family opened their purses and reached into their wallets to drop money into the little black bag as it passed by. I was taken back. I was caught off guard by this act of faith by this particular family.

In a moment, my perception of faith and dedication had changed. In a moment, I observed a deeper sense of entrusting our lives to the Lord. I sat there in my seat and sang a song of Grace and Peace while holding back the urge to reach out to this stranger sitting in front of me. I do not know why but after the service I approached this man and his wife and mother in law to offer my assistance. I reached out and shook his hand and expressed how much I prayed for him and his family and was shocked again by the story of how much he and his family had lost. It was then that I expressed my admiration for the act he had just performed and resolved to entrust my life to the Lord in as much a manner as he and his family had.

It is moments like these that I am silenced. Times when I look around me and I wonder how much more I could be doing in this world and how much I get caught up in the “comforts” of the world around me. I see the people around me and the priorities they set and I evaluate my own priorities and then struggle to re-prioritize while helping those around me see the bigger picture. I pray that God give me the words to share with those in my life, that they may see what it is God shows me. How do we help others re-prioritize without giving the impression that we are judging them? I pray that God will teach me and that I will be an example for them as this man was an example for me.