Being Blessed While Blessing

Taken from Al’s Other Blog

Wow! I was so uplifted this morning during praise and worship time. Wait… praise and worship time? It’s Friday, right?

Yes, but I get to present praise and worship music Monday through Friday at the treatment center, then worship-leading at my church on Sunday morning, then again on Sunday afternoon back at the treatment center. Many might say, “Whoa, don’t you get burned-out?”

Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated to sing praise songs at 8:00 AM, but when we get going, all those thoughts of stress and strife fade away in the blessed cacophony of praise. I am often blessed when the patients and their family members thank me for the music that I present at chapels at the treatment center, but mostly I am blessed to be in the midst of the zealous praise that comes from the ladies there. I have a notion that the praise is so intense at these chapel services because these ladies (and their families) are in such desperate need of God’s healing presence in their lives. They are in a place in their lives where making drastic changes in the way they live is paramount. They have come to a place of desperation and they need God’s help to get them through. Fortunately, they are at a Christ-centered treatment center where the Spiritual component is as important as the psychological aspect of their treatment plan. What a blessing to have the opportunity to work at a place such as this!

Fridays are all-music services, meaning that no-one comes to speak. Every other day, I present five praise and worship songs, then someone comes and speaks to the ladies about some spiritual topic. Sometimes it’s a local pastor, sometimes it’s a member of the staff at the center. At any rate, Fridays are special, since I have an opportunity to offer more praise and worship music. I also give the ladies and their visiting family members an opportunity to share what God has done during their time at “family week”. Today, a young lady shared scripture from the Psalms that helped her find strength and hope. She shared that she struggled with substance abuse, along with her eating disorder, and that she finally found something in the Bible that referred to the dangers of abusing alcohol. That opened a door of opportunity for me to share about my struggles with drugs and alcohol, and to share whith them about the hope that I have found in God; the strength I find in Him; and how amazingly powerful God’s grace is when we consider how impactful it is when we accept it.

When we are involved in an activity that brings glory to God and magnifies Christ, we are blessed. In the midst of troubling times, we can be blessed. When we recognize the majesty and holiness of our Lord, we grow to learn that we live every day by God’s grace. Life is a gift from God. I get to see, and participate in some small way in the lives of people who are recovering from diseases of the soul. it blesses my heart to be used by God in this way. Thank You, Lord!