Seeing Past Ourselves–February 2026

One of the most difficult things about living missionally is the discipline to not fixate too much on one’s own life.  Each day, we all have things that we are thinking about that can consume our thoughts if we let them.  We can easily end up so absorbed in our own world so much that we fail to notice other people and how we may be a blessing to them.  If I am honest, this might be the biggest challenge I find to being a consistent effective witness for Christ.   

I share all of this because it fits with where I was at one Tuesday in February.  I had just printed some brochures for our ministry at a church in the region that had graciously offered to do  printing for us.  Yet after the printing was finished and I got into the car, I noticed some mistakes, mistakes that I cannot believe I overlooked on the final edit.  I was very discouraged and wondered if I’d have to reprint everything.  I felt foolish for missing them.  

I had originally thought God wanted me to do some intentional outreach that day near the church where I did my printing once I finished up the brochures.  But after I saw my mistakes, I had strong emotions and wanted to just go home and work from my home office.  I chatted briefly with my wife Candy, and she was empathetic of my disappointment.  Yet she encouraged me to just let it alone and move on with my day.  I knew it was the right thing and it certainly wasn’t the first time I had to move on from a disappointment.  But I did not feel even a little bit like going to do outreach in that moment.  I drove off, still frustrated and unsure what I would do.  After a few minutes, I paused, asking the Holy Spirit what He wanted me to do.  And I felt Him encouraging me to stick with the outreach plan.   

I came into town and after parking, I remained absorbed in my problems.  I stopped by the library, still focused on my brochures and wondering if there was a way to fix them.  There was a line of text that was missing as the text box needed to be resized.  The three words on the previous sentence now made no sense.  I borrowed some white out and tried to cover the three words.   It wasn’t bad and I decided it could pass.  The other mistakes could be remedied more easily or simply overlooked in this edition of the brochures.  This realization helped me enough to start to mentally transition.  

As I walked out of the library, the Lord encouraged me to prayer walk.  As I did, I started thinking about all the people in this world and even in these few blocks and how there were so many problems bigger than my minor errors on a brochure.  I felt the Holy Spirit gently guiding me to the truth to “get over myself” in spite of my feelings.  As I prayed, I started noticing people around me.  I still wasn’t too interested in talking to anyone, but was starting to move that direction a little bit more.  

After crossing the street, I met a man standing outside of a restaurant.  He motioned for me to walk in front of him even as I suggested he go first.  Then he shared that he had Parkinson’s disease and wanted me to go first so I did.  But then I thought about how I had been praying for miracles lately.  I decided to stop to chat with him.  Who knew what might happen!  And God had put him in my path and he seemed to need encouragement.   

He was friendly and a great talker and there was that feeling that I have had many times before where this was a “God appointment” and God had brought us together for a purpose.  It was hard to gauge whether or not he’d be open to prayer and I didn’t want to sabotage a good conversation with a religious agenda.  I listened to him share for a while and he seemed to appreciate someone to talk to.  He even said as much at one point.  I learned that he didn’t live in Montana and was going to be leaving later that day on the train.  He shared about his career, family, and his life situation with concerning health issues.  I listened.  

At one point, he asked me about where I was going.  I mentioned I was prayer walking and eventually would land at a coffee shop to do some work.  I shared how I directed a non-profit and was also a chaplain—but that I wasn’t here to judge him.  He shared a bit of his own spiritual background with me and how he escaped from an unhealthy religious background years ago.  

Eventually, I told him I’d been praying for miracles recently (which I had been in recent days).  I told him I didn’t want to push religion on him, but asked if I could pray for him and he graciously received the invitation.  We sat down together nearby and I held his hand and prayed.  He was so blessed and even asked for my contact information.  

At one point, I shared with him how that day, I was so caught up in my own world of my brochures—and how I didn’t even want to come out and walk the streets, but God convicted me to get over myself.  There is nothing quite like honesty, and we both were being honest in this conversation!

We talked longer.  He learned I was married with young children and offered some advice he had from his years of marriage and things he shared his own grown children.  I really appreciated the wisdom he shared and acknowledged that.  I have learned that God will always teach me through the other person if I humble myself to receive.

When I finally left, I offered him a little booklet called “A Light For Your Way” from The Pocket Testament League that includes among other things a very relational gospel presentation and a gospel of John.  He was thankful for it and told me he’d read it.  I believe he will too!  It’s much easier to want to read something about God when it came to you as a result of a genuine connection with another human being as opposed to a religious agenda.   

I want to end this post with a prayer.  It is a prayer I am praying today and as you read it, you may find it is something you need to pray, too.  

Lord, thank you for giving us eternal life in Christ Jesus.  Thank you for the many many blessings you have given us here on this Earth.  Please help us to remain thankful each day, even for the small things and to see past ourselves and our problems. We confess that we allow our worlds to become too small and we quickly get self focused and selfish. There are hurting people in this world that need a touch from you.  Please use us as your heart, ears, mouthpiece, hands and feet to love and bless others.  We offer ourselves again to you, oh Lord.   In Jesus’ name, amen!