Going out of Your Comfort Zone:

A few weeks ago, I was given a great opportunity.  There is a family at my church who I have gotten to know over these past few years who is sadly going through a rough time.  They have a child who is suffering from cancer.  I can only imagine the stress and anxiety this can cause.  I am not a mother, especially not of multiple children, and I don’t have to feel the struggle of trying to heal one of these children. 

A woman from our church created a Meal Train for members of the church to create a meal once a week for this family. I signed up to make spaghetti and meatballs which is something I really love, as well as brownies and garlic bread.  This was so much fun to make.  I have recently fallen in love with cooking and baking and this was a great opportunity to practice while serving those of the church body.  I especially love making spaghetti and meatballs, because I do genuinely love it as a food and I find it really fun to form and bake meatballs. 

Now, I don’t say this to make myself superior or to be arrogant.  I am actually writing about this because I was initially nervous about making this meal.  I have seen many different opportunities pass by to make meals for those who are suffering in the past, and I usually don’t sign up.  I have given donations or sent a gift card here and there, but I haven’t usually offered a personally made meal.  This was because I was often uncomfortable or anxious about it.  What if I make something they don’t like?  What if I make the food taste bad or wrong?  What if I don’t make enough food? However, I now know it can be something to do that is helpful for members of my church and/or those who are struggling.

I found a lot of joy doing this.  As I mentioned above, I have found a lot more joy recently when it comes to cooking and baking in general, so it was very nice to use this new love and desire for other people.  I am now going to be more challenged to complete any future Meal Trains for those who I know and love and in my community.  I am going to look forward to it in the future because I know this is a great way to spend my time serving others.  I hopefully won’t be as nervous to sign up now.

However, there are many things still very much out of my comfort zone that I don’t find myself doing on a regular basis. One of those things is spending time telling others about Jesus.  I will sometimes tell others about going to church and spending time with the Lord through my devotionals in the mornings.  I will then, of course, write this blog post and those who read this on a regular basis know my relationship with God.  However, I don’t really spend a lot of time talking to others about their relationship with God and if there is anything I can teach them about God.  I don’t spend time inviting people to my church as much as I should. 

One verse giving comfort to those who are stepping out of comfort zones is 2 Timothy 1:7 which says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”  We are given a Holy Spirit when we become a Christian, and this is incredibly helpful to us.  This helps give us guidance, hope, and strength.  When there are times we are filled with dread or with fear or even just general nervousness about something, it can be good to first spend time in prayer for the strength of the Spirit.  

The challenge for the week is to think about what are some things out of your comfort zone.  This could be making a meal for a family who is struggling or is experiencing a major life moment similar to something I did recently.  This could be asking someone if you can pray over them.  This could be starting a Bible Study with a group of women who are in your school or who you work with.  This could be having open discussions about belief in a place where it is not always respected or appreciated.  

My challenge for myself again is going to be telling more people I encounter about Christ.  I want to share more of what God has done in my life and what he wants to do in others lives.  I also want to be a mentor to a young woman in my church and or to a few different women in my church.  I have loved the opportunities to disciple or to give a Bible study with those around me, and I need to be more bold about trying to lead one.  I know I have mentioned this many times throughout this blog, but I haven’t actually taken the steps to complete this. My next step should be to make a plan in place for this dream and desire of mine to become a reality.