Susan with some of the ladies from Abundant Life AG in Ladysmith, WI.

By Susan Shanklin

Tom and I traveled together for a three-day ministry time at Abundant Life Assembly of God Church in Ladysmith, Wisconsin in February. Oh, I had the notes, I had the scriptures and I had the theme.

You know, you can prepare and try so very hard to do something only to have the Lord make it so simple and straight forward, it makes you shake your head.

I got so wrapped up in preparing for my Ladysmith, Wisconsin, women’s meeting that I lost the joy of the message that I wanted to bring!

I had three files of notes saved on my computer. I was cutting and moving portions of the message from this page to that. I was eliminating whole paragraphs. I was a wreck! By the time we left, I had torn off half the message and left it home.

I sure didn’t have much peace riding in the car and second guessing what I was to share with the ladies of Ladysmith.

If I do travel with Tom, I don’t like to be a basket case or a nervous wreck to distract him from his ministry. Yes, I’m human…..basket case. Now it’s out, I’m not perfected.

Oh, I know you thought I walked on water and all but I don’t.

Miss Worry Wart was sure a distraction to my driver, Tom. His words of wisdom….. ”Just love the people.”

Yes! That’s it, just love the people. Forget the 7-8 pages of notes and the scripture cross-references. Forget the mind message and love the people!

“Ha! That’s too easy,” says I. Those women are expecting a theological exhortation, the meaning of Hebrew and Greek. These women want depth and the hidden meanings of the scriptures! HELP!

Are you getting the scene of the car ride to Ladysmith, Wisconsin? No wonder Tom does most of his traveling by himself.

My brain and worried prayers are just about worn out by the time we arrive at Ladysmith. It’s Friday night and Tom will be speaking, so that means I just have a few more hours to get this message down that I will ‘deliver’ to the women in the morning!

We drive up to the church after getting lost and are almost late, seeing that we were going in the wrong direction and completely missed the first turn of the very simple route to the church.

Mmmmmmm, wrong direction and simple route?

Tom ministers on the Prodigal Son and shares his testimony on Friday night. I love to hear that story. The  crowd is small but friendly and some of the ladies say they will be back tomorrow morning for the women’s meeting.

“That’s great,” I say. “We will have a great time.”

I’m kind of whipped from packing and preparing like one was going to China for a week, so I glance at my notes again. I try to figure out the flow and rhythm of message and try to hear what God wants.

Needless to say I laid awake for HOURS that night with uncertainty of what to say. Now folks, this is not the norm for me……. Usually it’s hard to shut me up! I awake real early and drag those notes out again and my Bible. Tom gets up and goes to get coffee and sits in the chair and continues his prayer and Bible reading time.

Me, I have those silly notes spread out on the bed! Tom looks over at me and says, “Put those notes away. You’re wearing them out! Just love the people and you will have plenty to say.”

Just love the people, mmm, what’s the Greek for that?

I stuff those pages in my Bible and go to the women’s meeting.

“Give them the cross,” I  hear the Lord say.

Love and the cross. Gee, that’s simple. I can do that.

Thank the Lord the women are smiling and friendly.

We started with our names and word association, like Laughing Liz or Just Jean aka Joyous Jean and Denise and “De-nephew.”

Laughter is good like medicine and I can feel the hearts opening up to the love of God.

I mixed stories of my walk with the Lord and talk about how nothing is impossible with God and then back to my testimony and then forward to the woman with the issue of blood that Jesus called “daughter.”

In the end the notes didn’t do me any good, but LOVE did it’s work and the women seemed encouraged, refreshed, and not wanting to leave!

Me, I stuff the notes back in my Bible and think how much better I will sleep tonight by having shared the simple truth of the cross and by giving love.