Joys & Concerns

In my small church, we have a period before prayer time where the congregation is encouraged to express joy or concerns. Some weeks I think every person there is going to talk. I try to imagine them doing this in a huge church; they would all be there until Monday morning.

The joys are often:

A family member home safely after a trip
A new job
Successful surgery
A new baby or grandchild

The concerns are just as you would expect:

illness
death
financial woes
other tragedies

This part of the service always sticks with me. It reminds me to find joy when I'm having a crummy day. I spend a little more time counting blessings and less time feeling sorry for myself.