Spring and summer are a relief to me. I am not a winter girl. Fall is tolerable, as it’s pretty and I get to wear sweatshirts (I love a good sweatshirt), but winter is simply something to bear so we can again get to spring. When it finally happens, after some teasing and disappointments, I am relieved. I can live quite happily for a good number of months without having to think about winter. Actually, I don’t like even saying the “w” word – no more of that until October.
Relief is a gift. For most of us, relief comes after something unpleasant or painful. It can come in many flavors – from financial relief, to better health, to a lessening of stress. There can be relief at the end of something (a semester, perhaps) or at the beginning of something (the start of a job). The hope for someone in discomfort or pain is the end or lessening of it – blessed relief.
There are times, though, when relief isn’t in sight. We are not always in control of our relief and often, without some help, it may not appear.
When I think of the charities and ministries we support, what they supply to their clients, guests, and participants is relief. They help with a money crunch, they provide housing, they advocate when the individual or family simply can’t do it on their own. They give breaks to families with special needs kids, they provide books or diapers or food – they love them in a hundred different ways.
Love can often provide relief.
We have all had times when there has loomed an extra-stressful stretch ahead. Work is busy, home is busy, and it feels like it will never be over, that relief will never come. Our lists have subheadings, the days seem shorter, and we worry that it just won’t all get done. It’s discouraging and disheartening, and it feels like there’s no end in sight.
Let’s up the ante. Substitute “busy at work” with a situation over which you have no control, that may include homelessness or devasting illness, a parent going into care, or a huge financial need you simply can’t meet. It’s not harder or more work that will give relief. It is someone coming alongside with resources, knowledge, and capacity that you, at the moment, just don’t have.
Sometimes, just having someone at your side can provide a level of relief. That person also bringing the specialty offered by their ministry, in a caring and compassionate way, can change the lives and futures of the people they serve. That’s love, and love brings relief.
I am so very grateful for all the ministries talked about in all of our chapter meetings. The relief they offer, the love they pour out on their recipients can feel like spring: gentle, warm, and life-giving. I’m glad for an opportunity to support them, to offer what relief I can to those suffering from situations I can’t even imagine.
It is a blessing for us to help offer blessed relief. Let the birds sing.
By Shannon Plate
McHenry County Chapter