The Spirit of Barnabas

After last week, most of us know who Barnabas was. Today, I want to share a brief story with you about a few Barnabas’ I know. Can you think of any in your life? Here is how I found mine.

After 14 years of making pool cues in the shop in my back yard, I was in a rut. I had lost my motivation to work as hard I should have been, and with the money not coming in like it should, my wife had to take a job to support my family while I struggled to keep my business afloat. Most days, it was hard for me to even go into my shop, let alone stay there for the required hours. I had jobs that were piled up that I lacked the motivation to complete, and as a result I had several angry clients, some of whom had been waiting quite some time for their product. Rather than motivating me however, that fact just made me more depressed and brought on bouts of anxiety.

Throughout this period, I continued to keep a relationship with God, but never bothered him with my business struggles. I prayed about family, friends, my wife and my kids…but never about my own lack of motivation. My feeling was that God would not present me with challenges that I couldn’t handle, but what I had failed to realize is that God would never give me a challenge that we couldn’t handle. Somewhere along the way I started to leave Him out of the equation.

My shop and my house are right next to both the University and CNM. As a result, I enjoyed the company of all of the college-age youth leaders—Amanda, Stephanie, and Aaron. One day, Stephanie and Amanda came to me and asked if they could fix up a small room in my shop, the one that is accessed by visitors from the street. Their plan was a good one, they wanted to clean up and paint some walls in order to create a place for me to do retail business. I agreed immediately, since it was a plan that had been moving around in my head for years.

When it came time to start the clean-up, most of the high school youth as well as Paul showed up ready to work. It became clear almost immediately however that things were going to go far beyond a little paint and rearrangement. That day we ended up knocking out two walls and pushing a lot of my old machines out of the way; the shop project had begun. Over the next few weeks, things just got bigger. Paul brought in sheet rock for the roof and a load of ideas for the rest of the shop about lighting, flooring, and furniture. Over the next few months Amanda and Stephanie saved what money they could and bought much needed supplies for the project. Their level of giving was no small feat given their college student status. As the weeks went by I became overcome with feelings of joy as a bunch of different kids, some of whom I am close to and others who I had never even met, showed up joyfully ready to serve wherever needed. Through their actions I was able to see that God had not abandoned me or my little shop, and that knowledge lifted me higher than I had been in over a decade.

Today, my shop is unrecognizable from the building it once was and my motivation to turn out quality products is at a peak. I could go on forever with thanks for Paul, Amanda and Stephanie. Their encouragement has renewed my spirit and filled me with a new sense of purpose and desire to serve; as well as a motivation to encourage everyone I meet. Thank you so much Cottonwood Youth, and all of your leaders! God Bless you guys!

By Adam Franks