Dear Friends,
This morning my motivation comes from real life. Over the past few weeks, several of my close friends have experienced severely emotional, life altering events. Loss of spouse, divorce, death of a parent (times 3), loss of a child, employment upheaval and separation from close friends. I even went so far as to personalize part of it by thinking that maybe this is just not a good time to be a friend of Dave Southwick. Yet, the world news is filled with page after page of loss and grief of people who don't even know I exist.
When you see a friend in need you feel compelled to find words that can sooth or uplift. You feel a burning desire to take on part of the burden - to help. God asks us over and over to love one another and to help ease the load.
I know that you who serve on the MHI staff bring that kind of love and encouragement to work with you every day. You are filled with compassion and a desire to help those who serve all over this globe. You reach into the lives of those who reach into every corner searching for another soul to save. You are doing God's work as He has asked us to do.
I would share one word of encouragement that was shared with me just before I left for my first short term mission trip. "Don't forget to look out for each other." The MHI team is a wonderful collection of some of the finest people I have met. You are all deeply important to each other, you care about each other and you need each other.
Today, I encourage you to look for the opportunity to encourage one another. Look for a moment to sooth and uplift. Find that situation where you can ease a burden, lighten a load. Of all the assets that MHI claims, none is more important that you.
I pray for your health, your strength and your courage. I pray that you and your families find warmth in the sub-zero temperatures of winter and that you share love for each other in a meaningful way. May you be blessed with success and may you find light in darkness. I pray for happiness and joy for you.
Blessings,
Dave
