Ministry to the Shepherds

by Annie Pelle

  “I think so. I have a hard head.” Ethan joked.

  “My sisters live just down the block, let’s go get you an ice pack just to be sure.”

  “I’m fine. I’ll just head home and get an ice pack.” Ethan said standing slowly

  “I’d feel better if you didn’t drive for a little bit. Let’s go to my sisters’ house.” Jeremy said pointing down the block. Ethan walked a little slowly as his head did hurt. Jeremy kept glancing at him to make sure he was alright. “I’m sure I’m fine Jeremy. This isn’t necessary.”

  “Humor me.” Jeremy said seriously as he opened the back door to his sisters’ house. He led Ethan in and fixed him an ice pack and told him to sit down at the table as he went to find his sisters.

  Jeremy walked into the living room expecting to find Robin watching TV but instead found six people having a prayer meeting for Ethan. He quietly retreated back to the kitchen. “They are having a prayer meeting. I forgot that Rachel told me that. It is a prayer group to pray for you.”

  “Me? Seriously?” Ethan asked incredulously

  “Yes, its Rachel’s way to support your ministry here.”

  “Wow” Ethan responded unsure of what he should do now. That was what Robin heard as she pushed open the kitchen door. Rachel had been in the middle of her prayer when Robin heard the back door open. She knew it was locked so she figured out one of her family members had come in through the back. Rachel had finished her prayer for Ethan and then talked to the others as they were leaving for the night. Rachel told Robin good night and headed for her room. She apparently hadn’t heard the back door open but Robin went to see if someone was in their kitchen.

  “Hello?” she said suspiciously as she made sure the door was closed

  “Hi” Jeremy said. “I about took the preacher’s head off at the park down the street so I brought him here to get an ice pack. I forgot about her prayer meeting for him.”

  “She probably would prefer that he not have known about it.” Robin said uncertainly

  “Why not?” Ethan asked

  “Rachel’s ministry is to help ministers as you know from calling her work. But she prefers to work behind the scenes and without anyone knowing about it, especially the minister. It is her way.”

  “I guess I can understand that. I’m still very grateful.”

  “Can you be grateful without mentioning to her that you know? She would be so embarrassed.” Robin asked

  “I can be grateful without mentioning it to her if I don’t have to lie about it. In other words, I won’t bring it up to her.”

  “Thank you. Neither she nor I would want you to lie about it. Rachel will be much more comfortable around you if she doesn’t know you know.”

  “I don’t think she is comfortable around me anyway, Robin. Yesterday she called me Pastor Hayes when I spoke to her.”

  “That’s because I was trying to be respectful of your position in our church.” Rachel announced as she came through the kitchen door. “I heard voices and came to investigate. Robin shouldn’t have told you anything. Jeremy shouldn’t have either. Yes, Pastor Hayes, I was having a prayer group and it was about you. Now that you know, please share with us if you would like us to pray for something specific.” She said turning to leave the kitchen. She made it to the stairs before Ethan caught up to her.

  “Wait a minute.” He said as she put her foot on the first step “I want to talk to you. Let’s go outside onto the porch.”

  Rachel hesitated then turned in his direction. He took her hand and laid it on his arm to direct her through the door. On the porch he walked her to the swing and she sat down. Ethan took a minute to gather his thoughts. “First of all, you can call me Ethan and it will still show respect for my position in the church. I like to be friends on a first name basis with my congregation.”

  “I’ll try to call you Ethan.”

  “Thank you. Now, why are you embarrassed for me to know you were having a prayer meeting about me? I’m very grateful.”

  “Oh, okay” she stated but didn’t continue

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “And I’m not going too. My sister shouldn’t have told you that.”

  “Well, she did. Now I would like it if you did too.” He said coming to sit beside her on the swing

  “Robin told you why.”

  “Technically, she told me you would be embarrassed, not why you would be embarrassed.”

  “I could stop the prayer group if you want me too.” She offered hoping to distract him.

  “No. I can always use prayer on my behalf.” He said laughing slightly “Okay, I’ll back off. But know this, I’m honored that you would pray for me. Thank you.”

  “It is my honor to pray for you.” She replied quietly

  Ethan smiled at her “Do you want me to walk you back inside?”

  “No, I’m going to sit here for a few minutes. It is a nice night. What are you doing here anyway?”

  “Your brother walloped me in the head during our basketball game and then insisted I needed ice on it.”

  “Oh no! How bad are you hurt?” she asked concerned

  “I’m fine. It just dazed me for a minute.”

  “You’re sure? Go back in and get the ice pack.” She said pointing in the direction of the house.

  “Relax Rachel” he chuckled “I have a hard head so I’ve been told, he didn’t do any real damage. I’ll go say good night to Robin and Jeremy though. See you Sunday.”

  “Good night Pastor Hayes” she said automatically

  “Rachel” he growled

  “Sorry” she laughed “Good night Ethan.”

  “That’s better.” He said going into the house. He went to the kitchen and said his goodbyes to Rachel’s siblings then headed back to the front door. “Good night Miss Hale” he said as he walked past her

  “Good night Pastor Hayes” she joked as he laughed walking down the front stairs

  Rachel was still sitting on the porch when she heard the front door open. “Come on out. I can’t see you but I heard you.”

  “I’m sorry Rachel” Jeremy said solemnly “I forgot about your meeting. After I clobbered him, I wanted to get him an ice pack.”

  “Did you have to tell him the meeting was about him?”

  “I didn’t know you would be this upset that he knew.”

  “Anyway, now he knows and I’ll deal with the embarrassment. I’m going to bed, good night.”

  On Saturday morning a few weeks after his discussion with Rachel, Ethan was pulling a ladder and painting supplies out of his garage in preparation to paint his house when five cars pulled up in front of his house. He walked to investigate what was going on and saw about ten people from his congregation walking up to his front door. They were carrying paint rollers and brushes and some of them were removing ladders from the trucks.

  “Hi” he said walking up to them. “What are you doing here?”

  “We got an email that said to show up here today to help you paint.”

  “Who told you I needed help to paint?” he asked again “Who sent the email?” but everyone gave a different answer. “Thank you. I can use the help.” He said showing them the side of the house where he had the supplies. He told them what he wanted done and they got to work. About an hour later more vehicles arrived and they set up lunch on his front lawn. Those that had been painting stopped and ate then went back to work. By end of the day, his house was almost finished. “I appreciate your help. It would have taken me several weekends. I don’t know who told you I needed help but thank you to that person too.”

  “We will see you tomorrow, Ethan” Tom Green said as he headed for his vehicle. Ethan waved them off and went inside. They had even cleaned up the mess so he had his whole night to review his sermon for tomorrow. Dear Lord in Heaven. Thank you for the person who organized my painting help. Bless them in a special way. In Your Son�
�s Name, Amen.

  On Thursday, Ethan’s car didn’t start so he ended up calling the church administrative assistant and telling her that he would be in tomorrow. She could tell whoever called to call him at home. He told her his car wasn’t working and he needed to work on it. As he walked out the door to head to the garage, a tow truck service pulled into his driveway.

  “Hi Mason.” Ethan greeted the driver as he stepped down from his truck. “What are you doing here?”

  “I heard you needed some help.”

  “You did. Did Amanda call you?”

  “No. My wife called me. Told me to hustle over here.”

  “Well, I think it is just the battery but I hadn’t gotten around to making sure.”

  “I’ll look it over.” Mason said as he followed Ethan to his garage. Mason determined that it was the battery and took Ethan to purchase a new one. After installing the new one and making sure the car would start, he told Ethan goodbye and went on his way. Ethan changed his clothes and went to the church.

  “Amanda, who did you tell that my car wasn’t working?” he asked when he arrived

  “No one. I don’t tell your personal business.”

  “I appreciate that. Mason showed up and fixed my car for me.”

  “That’s nice. You had a couple of messages while you were gone.” She said handing him the papers. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She said leaving for the day.

  “Bye.” He said reviewing the messages. He went into his office and sat down behind his desk. Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for sending Mason to help me with my car. In Jesus’ name, Amen

  Saturday morning, Ethan’s phone rang at his house. “Hello”

  “Hi Ethan. It’s Jeremy Hale.”

  “Hi. How are you?”

  “I’m good. Robin said you wanted shelves put up at your house, can we come over and get the measurements so she can make them for you?”

  “How does she know that? I didn’t mention it to her.”

  “I don’t know; you’ll have to talk to her. I’m just asking if you want us to come take the measurements.”

  “Let me call her and then she can let you know.”

  “Sure. See you later.”

  Ethan stared puzzled at his phone and then went to find Robin and Rachel’s phone number. He dialed them up.

  “Hello”

  “Hi. It’s Ethan Hayes”

  “Hi, it’s Robin. Is Jeremy meeting me at your house?”

  “How did you know I wanted shelves?”

  “I got a call earlier in the week that you wanted shelves. The payment was sent over the same day. I’m sorry I had to wait until today to have Jeremy call you. I’ve been swamped this week.”

  “Who called you?”

  “Tamara Banes”

  “I didn’t tell her I wanted shelves.”

  “I don’t know. Is now good for you if we come get the measurements?”

  “Sure. I told Jeremy you’d call him once I talked to you.”

  “Okay, we should be there shortly.”

  Ethan hung up from talking to Robin and called Tamara Banes. She wasn’t any help either. She was on a long string of emails that mentioned it in passing. He thanked her for the information and hung up. Dear Heavenly Father. It’s confused Ethan again. I don’t know how these people know to come help me but I’m thankful. In Jesus Name Amen.

  On the next Saturday, Ethan was getting out of his car at the church when lots of cars started to arrive. “Did I forget some activity?” he asked Pearl Hale as she got out of her car. “No, we got a phone call that the church was getting together today to do some extra cleaning for Sam. So here we are.”

  “Okay.” Ethan said confused as he turned toward the building. Sam, the church’s custodian, was just exiting as Ethan approached the front door.

  “Hi Ethan. Why are all these people here?”

  “I have no idea. Pearl said she received a phone call to come help you with extra cleaning today.”

  “I didn’t ask for that. I told my wife that you and I had talked about it in passing. But she wouldn’t have organized this.”

  “Well, put them to work.” Ethan laughed “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

  “Sure” Sam said confused

  Ethan walked into his office and sat down at his desk. Dear Heavenly Father. I thank you for your answers to prayer. How does all of this keep happening? Please help me if I am to solve this puzzle. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

  Monday afternoon, Ethan was in his office when he noticed an email from Rachel. He saw the sent time was three am. “Why was she awake and emailing me at three am?” He opened it up and found a question from her about James and of course another apology for bothering him. As he was formulating his answer to the question, it came to him that she might be the one organizing all the help. He decided to go visit her and see.

  As Ethan approached Robin and Rachel’s house, he heard noise from the workshop so he decided to see Robin before tackling Rachel. He knocked on the workshop door and waited for Robin.

  “Hi Ethan” she said as she invited him in. “Checking up on me to see if I’m done with your shelves?”

  “No.” he laughed “I actually just wanted to say Hi to you before talking to your sister. I need to ask her a question but somehow I thought I would get a better answer in person than over the phone.”

  Robin burst out laughing. “I’m sorry; I’m not laughing at you. How did you figure her out so fast?”

  “I don’t know. Am I right?”

  “Yes. She doesn’t lie to you on the phone but she can make it seem like she is answering your question and you like her answer until you have time to digest what she said after you have hung up from talking to her.”

  “That’s sneaky. Is she here?”

  “No. She went with my parents on vacation for two weeks. You’ll have to try her later. She might return your phone call though if you left her a message.”

  “Might? I doubt it. I seem to have gotten on her bad side when it comes to conversing with me.”

  “No, you didn’t. She isn’t comfortable with people.”

  “I’d love to ask why but I won’t. It isn’t fair to her.”

  “True. It would be better if she told you but just know this, it isn’t just you.”

  “Thanks for telling me that. I’ll see you Sunday.” He said leaving the shop more confused than when he arrived. He went back to his office and wrote the reply to her question and then sent the email. His questions to her would have to wait.

  Friday morning, Ethan was in his office at church when Amanda showed Jeremy and Robin in. “Hi. What’s up?”

  “You tell us.” Jeremy answered “We were asked to come here and measure your office for more shelves. Why didn’t you mention it when we were at your house?”

  Ethan thumped his head down on his desk “I haven’t told anyone I wanted more shelves in here.” He mumbled

  “What?” Robin asked

  Ethan lifted his head from the desk. “I have not mentioned to anyone that I wanted more shelves in here. It isn’t something I need right away and didn’t want the church to pay for. How did you know? Who called you?”

  Robin took the envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Ethan. “That was in my mail for my business earlier this week.”

  Ethan opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. As he did, a cashier’s check fell out also. He looked from the check to Robin who shrugged then turned his attention to the note. It read Please see the pastor about more shelves in his office.

  Ethan rubbed his hands over his face in exasperation. He folded up the note and the check and handed it back to Robin.

  “If you didn’t mention this to anyone, who sent me this?” Robin asked holding up the note and the check.

  Ethan shrugged and held out his hands in helpless surrender. “Honestly, I thought Rachel was behind these “
things” that keep happening. I didn’t know how she was doing it but now, I don’t guess I was right.”

  “What things?” asked Jeremy

  “People showing up to paint my house, you two calling to put shelves in my house, Mason showing up to fix my car, a crowd of people showing up to clean the church and now you two showing up to put shelves in my office.”

  “Our sister wouldn’t know anything about doing those things. She can’t see remember.”

  “I know that. And now she isn’t even in town, she couldn’t have sent you here today.”

  “Oh yes she could. My sister can organize the whole city if she wanted too. I didn’t know about any of those things except the shelves or I might have put it together faster than this.”

  “You mean I’m right?” Ethan exclaimed

  “It’s possible.” answered Robin “I can’t prove it and I won’t try. But it isn’t out of the realm of possibilities.”

  “How would she do it?” asked Ethan

  “Ethan, I won’t answer that for you. I can’t really. You’ll have to ask her yourself.”

  “I will. When is she coming home?”

  Jeremy started to answer but Robin stopped him. “Ethan, after the next time you see her at church, then come to our house. If you show up on our doorstep the day after she gets home, she will know I told you. Please don’t put me in the middle.”

  “I apologize. It can wait until I see her again, but I will be stopping by for a visit at the first opportunity.”

  “Anytime. Now where do you want the shelves and then can it wait until after Christmas?”

  “It can wait as long as it needs too.” He said showing them where he thought he’d like the shelves. After they left he sat down and prayed again. Dear Lord God. Did I figure out the mystery? If I need to ask questions, please help me to ask sensitive questions and not make Rachel more uncomfortable around me. She is a kind, caring sister in Christ and I suspect a wonderful friend. In Jesus Name. Amen.”