Death and a Budget Meeting

Imagine, if you will, that you are the head of a 40 bed hospice care center where everyday you are faced with the uncertainty of death of people you've come to know and love.  You are called to their bedside.  You are asked to pray or sing them to heaven.  They tell you how excited they are to meet Jesus.  You return to your office to cry and grieve and pray.  And then you have to engage in the day to day management of running a care center.  The budget meetings, the grant writing, dealing with aging plumbing, letting your staff go.

It blows my mind that this is what Sharon does everyday at the Genesis Care Center.  She is like no manager I have ever met and hearing her speak leaves me feeling so inspired.  Everywhere you look around the Genesis ministries, it is evident that God is present.  But there is something about the miracles at the care center that make me want to find a quiet space and pray like I've never prayed before.  This staff prays with a holy confidence that moves mountains and brings peace.  I'm not saying that it always works the way they want but the presence of God is undeniable.  And they are not unlike the rest of us, with their doubt, their questions, and their feelings of defeat.  But they have no doubt that God is a sovereign God.  And they love Him and praise Him despite their circumstances.  And they know the power of prayer.

I want that holy confidence, and I want that prayer life.  The care center starts every morning with a group prayer, and I think this makes all the difference in the world.  I think of another tremendous, life-changing organization...IJM...who also starts their day with prayer.  And all of this makes me wonder....what would our places of employment look like if we started our day in group prayer?  I wish there was a way to find out.  But in the meantime, I can commit to drawing a circle of prayer around my agency, my colleagues, and my families, on my own.

I'm so thankful for Sharon and her staff.  They are amazing and remind me of the power of a deeper prayer life.  Prayers for life, prayers for piece in grieving and death, and even prayers for the budge meetings, grant writing, and old plumbing.  God is listening, God is answering.  We just need to do the asking.

Goodnight for now!

Much love,

Brandi