June was having lunch with a friend the other day when the friend said she had a Thanksgiving dilemma. “I’m going to be out of town with one of my (adult) children. The other one that lives here and her cousins want to use my house for Thanksgiving. I’ll let them of course, but I’ll be worried about my house!”

June replied, “It sounds as if you have an opportunity to practice Holy Indifference!”

This is something I’ve blogged about before, but this is another application. June explained that with God’s help her friend could be indifferent to the state of her house upon her return from out of town. Moreover, if she allowed herself to worry too much about the house, then the house would be what Ignatius of Loyola (who defined Holy Indifference) would call a “disordered attachment.”

It was a useful discussion, and our friend has two things she can pray:

• For Holy Indifference
• Against a disordered attachment

I like the practicality of what we’re learning lately, and the ease of sharing it with fellow believers in normal conversation. It’s what “frontline ministry” is about, a concept developed in my book Join the Adventure!. And the good news is, anyone can do it!

Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love. (Hebrews 10.24, Passion Translation)