Today in church our pastor preached on the parable of the talents.  In that parable there is a right master who leaves 3 servants in charge of property and wealth and later returns to see how much each has earned for him.  Two of the servants work hard and produce income for the master.  The 3^rd buries the wealth in the ground so when the master returns he has exactly what he had when he left.  Our pastor asked to consider how we feel the master would treat the imaginary 4^th servant.  This servant invested all the resources in the stock market and lost everything.

I was really surprised by the proposal of the 4^th servant and how he handled the resources entrusted to him.  What the illustration opened up to me is that in many situations there are people involved who we do not think about.  We don’t consider their presence or their perspective on what is happening in the situation.  In my work with families I often find out during a conversation that there is someone else in the family who is also hurting and who needs prayer.  One way I find this out is by asking before pray, “Is there anything else we need to pray for besides your health?”  Often I find out the family has another member who is much more ill than the patient I am visiting.  Families are always pleased that I think to ask if there is more we should pray for when I am with them.  My learning from these situations that was prompted by the sermon is: Just because we don’t see a sign of a need does not mean it does not exist.  I hope to be even more effective in seeking out these needs and help people cope with them.