Battling Leaves to Share God’s Love

by Abdiel Medina

I, alongside my brothers, Evan and David, were battling against Mother Nature herself. She wielded a countless army of orange and red spiked soldiers, but we were determined not to yield. At last, we reached the point where darkness surrounded us, and the cold stabbed at our flesh. However, we had already sacrificed so much and were fighting for a noble cause, so we knew that we must not give up. So, we fought the good fight, stayed firm, and ultimately, we were victorious.

Alright, I admit that this is a bit of an exaggeration. It was early December, and we were raking leaves for our awesome youth pastors Leah and Spencer Hughes. For the last couple of months, they have been going through a difficult season, and we wanted to do our part to help them out. Thankfully, as Christians, Christ had given us a commandment that fit perfectly for this situation. Jesus Christ had declared, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34, NKJV).

As disciples of Christ, we carried the desire and responsibility to exemplify love towards our youth pastors, especially with the tough season they were experiencing. Although we could not change the source of their ongoing struggles, we desired to support them in whatever means we could. For that reason, when David, one my brothers from church, informed me that the leaves needed to be raked at our youth pastors’ house, I called up my brother Evan, and the three of us got to work. Consequently, we were able to express God’s love to the Hughes family by fulfilling one of their housekeeping needs. Furthermore, I have been in awe of how the rest of my church, Keith Street Ministries, has been an outpouring of God’s love by taking the initiative spiritually and emotionally in prayer and financially 8 // January 2023

through donations to support their family. This has helped the Hughes family to focus on what’s important.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, NKJV). We have the opportunity and responsibility as the children and army of God to share God’s joy and love into the world. Specifically, you can start to do so in your community by using the gifts, talents, and time God has given you to work alongside fellow Christian

brothers and sisters to support the needs of the community around you. Afterall, God can even use the mundane task of raking leaves to be a blessing to those who are going through a tough season.

So, I encourage you to share God’s love in your community by serving the needs of those around you. Finally, a special thank you to Spencer and Leah for continuing to trust God and being an inspiration and source of God’s love to those in your community.

About The Author Abdiel Medina is a young writer, member of Keith Street Ministries, maker of KSM Youth memes, and Sophomore at Lee University.