With Christmas on the way I felt sharing this would be appropriate and hopefully inspiring for you….
We have had a wonderful time in the village of Gorre with our YWAM DTS team and been involved in some of the ministries which involved, sharing our stories in church meetings, playing soccer and music with the children, drug awareness for teens and prison ministry.
One thing we noticed was the love and warmth of our host family, Pastor Ermal and Nertila. They are an amazing couple who host guests, serve their community and pastor the church, all whilst looking after their 2 children and new born baby. They have been working so hard that they haven’t had much time together as a couple. Although our main reason for being in Gorre was to serve the community and ‘the mission’, we were reminded how God wants us to serve each other, especially those carrying large burdens in ministry. This couple love each other and their children very much and it was obvious to us just how much they sacrifice for others, living in an open house above the church, where people can pop in at any time just to say Hello and spend time with them.
We decided we wanted to give this couple a gift.
The gift of precious time together.
I had a lot of fun chatting with Nertila and helping her get ready for her date! They went out happily together for a few hours. Josh and I along with our DTS team stayed with their children….
Time is a concrete expression of love that people can measure.
Out of the whole time doing various ministries, this was something unplanned, spontaneous and yet natural and from the heart.
This made me think more deeply about what I give to the people in my life, especially during the Christmas season, when we’re moving into one of the busiest months of the year. Amongst all the commercial hype and rush, we can so easily get bogged down with what ‘things’ to buy.
But this year, as you think about what gifts you want to give, maybe consider giving the people you love the gift of time.
When I give someone the gift of time I am saying, “I value you,” and, “You matter to me.” The key to having a strong marriage, a strong family, deep friendships and communicating Christian values to the next generation, to having healthy relationships is Time.
