My personality tends to be a bit "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde." On a day-to-day basis I am "Type B" -- relaxed and flexible, I take things one step at a time and don't stress over bumps in the road. Once I've been handed a responsibility, however, a switch is thrown and "Type A" kicks in -- aiming at efficient perfection, I plan and organize things to the Nth.

There have been many times my Type A side has been an asset (I cannot imagine coordinating the Food Closet or homeschooling my children without the ability to organize), but it also has, like Mr. Hyde, proven destructive. All of that organizing and planning comes with a tremendous amount of worrying: If this piece falls through, the whole plan will be thrown out of whack, and then what?! Can I keep everything on schedule? What happens if . . . ?! And so on, and so on. The worrying is (obviously) stressful, and stress causes a plethora of unwanted physical and emotional side effects.

This Spring I began to once again plan for the Summer Feeding Program ministry, and Mr. Hyde made himself known: Dates were set, sign-up sheets were distributed, charts were made . . . all my ducks were in a row. And then reality happened; my ducks started to wander and my attitude quickly began to sour.

Thankfully, the Lord showered me with His grace when things started to get hairy -- especially in this past week when things reached an almost comical state of confusion. First and foremost, God urged me to be faithful in remembering Who is in control, and in doing so gave me a sense of peace; He also guided me toward humility and reminded me of the true purpose of any ministry, which (of course) is to show His love.

Faced with the circumstances of this week and left to my own devices I'd be a mess and the Summer Feeding Program would be in peril. But praise be to God that I am not left alone - I have the comfort and the strength of the Lord Almighty, and He is victorious!

-Trish Gerstel