One of the volunteer activities I really enjoy is working with Habitat for Humanity. I’ve been doing that for quite some time, but even more so since retirement. On a recent build, I was up on a ladder taking a measurement for a guy on the ground, and it was 19 5/8 inches. I made a comment, “that’s the year I was born.” The guy on the ground had a shocked look on his face. He said, “No. Really?” I said, “Yeah, 1958.” The other guy said, “That means I’m older than you!” He was surprised by that. I wasn’t sure how to take that!

A few minutes later, when I was back on the ground, we continued the conversation. He said he would soon be 65 years old. I told him that was a good thing, to which he replied, “The way I look at it is that I’m that much closer to being dead.” My immediate response was, “Oh, I don’t worry about that.” Again, he had the shocked look on his face, but it soon turned to a smile. You see, he knows I’m a Christian. We’ve had many conversations about that. I openly share my confidence that Jesus paid for my sins and I know I’m going to heaven because of what He did for me. I try to make it part of my everyday conversations.

Colossians 4:2–6 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Sometimes I do that well. Others times not so much. At the LCMS Youth Gathering in Houston last week, it was about a fifteen minute walk from my hotel to the convention center where I was volunteering as one of the people who answered the gathering helpline calls. Most times I walked down that street, the same woman was sitting or sleeping on the same sidewalk bench. One morning I was walking briskly to the 7 a.m. shift and she looked at me and said “Good morning.” I replied, “Good morning to you.” I had put a cold soda in my backpack that I was taking to my shift, but I said, “Would you like something cold to drink?” She eagerly accepted it and said, “God bless you.” My response was “God bless you, too” and I hurried off to my shift. A couple of minutes later, I realized I did not make the most of that opportunity. I should not have been in such a hurry to keep going. I should have had more of a conversation with that lady and offered to pray with her. I should have made sure she knew I gave her that soda in Jesus’ name and that she knew that He loved her and died for her, too.

Father, thank you for bringing me to know and believe that Jesus is my Savior and giving me the certainty of life and forgiveness. Help me to proclaim that message clearly as I should in my day to day life. Help me to fill my conversations with grace, your grace, so that I can make the most of every opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus. In His most holy and precious name I pray. Amen.