About this time of year, I get pretty excited. Up here in the Michigan tundra, it just might snow in October! You see, heralding my arrival into this world was the greatest blizzard this state has ever seen and some of my skin was literally blue when I came out of the womb (I appreciate the doctors who took care of that little issue for me!). So it was pretty much a given that I would always appreciate cold, inclement weather, and my family and I have already been out building snowmen and throwing snowballs this fall! At the very least, not being only a fair-weather fan builds character. At the very most, it generates great appreciation.
But not just for the beautiful wintry goodness. Appreciation also for those who keep building with you when life is anything but fair weather. Enter Jeff Konfara. One thing I’ve always loved doing is building relationships with and edification among students, and Jeff and I enjoy doing that on essentially a daily basis through our church. There are not many experiences that top watching a young person negotiate all the difficulties the world deals them, choose to follow God instead, and subsequently enjoy the fulfillment and fruit that doing so inevitably brings! But there was a time Jeff and I weren’t having a lot of those experiences. Four months after we started this college outreach, we had a grand total of two students and a whole lot of questions and frustration. This very week two years ago, I was dreading yet another week of what was sure to be disappointment.
But I wasn’t alone. Jeff shared weather that wasn’t fair weather. He sat with me, thought with me, prayed with me, wondered with me, brainstormed with me, and most of all, slogged through the slop with me. And God granted us grace, growth, and groups and groups and groups of fantastic students that we admire, respect, and are as excited for as we always wanted to be! Thanks Jeff for not being a fair-weather fan; it’s been nothing but good times from that moment on!
And you? Who is your share-weather fan, the one who sticks with you when others run for cover? Someone has shared the slop with you, so heal their hereafter with a big thank-you today!
It’s really fun to discover which cause or organization those who have earned my gratitude enjoy sharing with others. As he is in the field of counseling, one of Jeff’s is Beacon of Hope, a ministry offering free counseling to those who are hurting personally but also financially. Learn more about their services here!
