Filling up and spilling over

We sit across from eachother at McDonalds their beautiful smiles shining as we laugh over ice cream. They've asked me to meet to talk about "stuff". I have offered to my girls many times that if they ever need to talk, to tell me and I will take them out to chat. The girls laugh as I have them practice approaching me to handle a problem that they are dealing with with their friends. I explain to them ways to confront problems in such a way that their feelings can be heard and yet they do not come across as attacking their friends. We laugh, joke, reminisce, and then run to Wal-Mart to pick up school supplies for their project tomorrow. I have come to learn through living here in Chicago that ministry is just living life. It's keeping a flexible schedule so when a kid needs help with homework or needs to talk I can be there. It's spending a little less on myself so that I can share, its being intentional. Ministry isn't glamorous, it can be exhausting, heart wrenching, and cause you do give every last ounce of yourself but moments like today when an eleven year old girl asked me with excitement filled eyes, "Do you think I could teach and invest in younger girls like you do with us?" it is all worth it.