Visit to The Rose Prompts Devotional

Lynnette Ross, pastor of Cathedral of Hope, Houston, wrote the following devotional after a visit to The Rose. We thank Rev. Ross for her permission to share ...

Scripture
“And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds” Hebrews 10:24

A Word of Hope
It is the time of year for me when I have what is called my ‘well woman’ physical. A mammogram is one of the components of that physical and for years I had the procedure done at the same place because it was familiar and I came to trust them over time. Several years ago a friend of mine asked me to consider switching providers and to begin having my mammogram done at The Rose, a non-profit breast cancer organization providing mammography screening, diagnosis, access to treatment and support to all women regardless of their ability to pay. As a woman who is blessed to have health insurance, by having my insured mammogram done there I help The Rose provide care to women who do not have insurance or the ability to pay. So yesterday I had my mammogram done at The Rose as I did last year.

It would have been easier for me to write them a check but writing a check would not have impacted by spirit or my heart. Now don’t get me wrong, writing checks to organizations that rely on giving is critical, and I do that as well. Here’s the difference – the act of consciously going to The Rose changes me. It is an intentional act of community for me. The entire time I am there I think of the women whose lives are helped by my being there along with the countless other women who help in the same way. It binds me to them all in a way that is inexplicable. That is what community is all about for me and my friend’s asking me to do it allowed me to engage in a good deed and to love others in a way that forever alters how I look at the world. For me that is the sense of community that Jesus ushered into the world and asked us to live out on a daily basis.

Prayer
God of grace and mercy, thank you for the opportunity to be in community and may you continue to provoke me to acts that change me and bind me to those around me and remind me of your steadfast love for us all.