Grace pulled me aside.

“Are you okay?”

The question frustrated me since we were already on the streets of downtown Dallas with several small groups – I didn’t want to stop to think about it.

“Grace” — I whispered back — “I’m fine, but even if I weren’t, now would not be the time to ask.”

That was just the latest time I’d been visibly stressed when I was supposed to be ministering to others.

Like many others who find themselves stressed out during the week, I thought the main problem was time; I always got out of work immediately before ministry and jumped right into hosting several people at my house, then helping them get to Downtown Dallas with enough snacks and water to open the doors of conversation to the homeless, while explaining safety protocols, organizing groups, and taking care of last-minute emergencies. 

But I knew that even on days when I wasn’t terribly busy, I still began with an unsettled feeling – the issue was not the busyness of life, but a noisiness of the interior.

So over the next few weeks, we began to add a one-minute pause at the start of the evening – it goes like this:

Jesus, 

I give everyone and everything to you. 

I give myself to you, for union with you.

I am created for union with you.

I need more of you, God, fill me with more of you. 

The world is noisy, so noisy that silence is often marketed as a luxury good. The pause helps remind us that our purpose isn’t to be a solution to the noise or the suffering of those around us, it’s not even necessarily to alleviate it, though we try our best. Instead, we serve God best when we accept his unceasing offer to connect with Him.

Cast all of your cares upon Him because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Gabe Farrell
PFC Volunteer
DFW 2025