God at Work

Over the past month many things have changed, but I feel like we have seen the Church act in ways that are distinctly true to what we are called to be  Our methods may be different than usual, but the message is still the same: Jesus is Lord of all invites us into a relationship to love him and others.  Over the past month I have had many more conversations on the phone and meetings through video chats.  We have seen neighbors show up in bunny suits to share joy and parades of cars pass by houses to celebrate birthdays.  Families are gathering on their porches, tables, and living rooms to celebrate the resurrection, study God’s Word, and pray together.  Many of these things were happening before COVID-19 or quarantine became household phrases, but during this unique time we have seen creativity and simplicity come to action.  

I do miss meeting with others as I’m sure you do too! And we long to be back to meeting together, but during this time, how can we see God at work?

Psalm 19 is a great Psalm to think about and use with your family to ask some questions about God’s activity around us. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”     

•  Look outside, what does the sky, stars, trees, wind, animals tell us about God?  How do you see God provide?  Does the sun come up and set everyday, what does that tell us about God being faithful?  What is creation proclaiming?  I’m sure there are many more questions you can ask and entertain as you look around at creation.

Then in verses 7-13 the focus shifts from creation to scripture.  God’s Word is perfect, sure, right, pure, true, desirable, and correcting.  Scripture revives, brings joy, brightens our eyes, endures, is sweet…      

• What are ways you find joy in God’s Word?  How does God show us life through His Word?  What is your favorite Bible story?  Favorite Bible verse?  Are there things in the Bible that you find hard to read, what are they, and why?  How can you see God at work through his Word?

Maybe you can read Psalm 19 this week and think about it as a family, ask some of these questions (not all at once) and think about where we see God at work.  We might see God working in different ways than we expect or are used to, but God is still God and still wants us to know Him through His Word and work in and around us.  God invites us into His mission to love God and love others.  How can you and your family participate in this during May?  

Grief is a Crazy Thing!

Grief is a crazy thing!  In the past few days we have learned that our kids will not be returning to school this year and in the midst of their sadness over missing friends, field trips, programs, and all the fun that takes place at the end of the elementary year, our oldest pup suddenly had a heart attack in our back yard and died later that afternoon at the vet.  

I was prepared for the sudden onslaught of grief as I mourned the loss of a great friend and companion.  I was prepared for the sudden memories to throw me into sadness or tears or laughter.  But one thing I was not prepared for was watching my kids grieve.  One announcement, although somewhat expected was not what they’d hoped for and the other came suddenly out of the blue.  For them, they would be launched into sobbing, or questioning, or just be sent into a stupor of pain from the loss of their hopes and the loss of their friends. 

I am grateful for friends and family who have showed up with prayers, cards, calls, and cakes.  I’m also grateful for our Children’s Director, Debbie, who gave very wise words today.  She said “this is a life lesson for them to have with me so they will hopefully be better able to navigate later. A kind of training, a blessing in itself because we can point out God in the whole thing. How He reminds us of His love even when we hurt. That what we feel is ok to feel and to tell Him.”  

Grief stinks!  Loss stinks!  Shattered hopes stink!  Life beyond our control happening out of the blue stinks!  Through Lent we used a study on Ecclesiastes and the author says over and over that things are “meaningless” or Hevel (In Hebrew), better translated as vapor or a mist that we can see but not hold onto.  In the midst of loss, the weight of those things we hold onto presses down on us quite heavily.  But we are also reminded that in this world there are times of living and times of dying, times of joy and times of mourning.  None of these times last forever.  Thank God!  

The hope we have in times of loss is that there is something bigger, Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that “He has put eternity in the hearts of man.”  Everything isn’t meaningless, but the temporary things are given meaning by our creator.  So many of the Psalms (especially 42) give voice of people hurting and struggling with loss.  Loss of dreams, security, the way things were supposed to be, and more.  But the resounding conclusion is to seek God, hope in God, rest and hide in God.  

We are trying to help our kids through this season to know that sometimes we might laugh, sometimes we might cry, or feel paralyzed by sadness, or ask questions that we don’t know the answers to.  We’ve also tried to help them to understand that we all might feel these different emotions differently and at different times, and that is OK.  Loss hurts, and no one wants to experience it, but in the midst of the pain, God is with us.  God is a shelter and a fortress, a helper in our time of need.  When we look up for help, God is there for us to hope in. 

There are no questions out of bounds at this time and as we go through this season together, we are learning to share our feelings with God and trust God to hold us through all of them. We are learning together, growing together, and trusting together.  

Matthew 5:4 says “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” I’ve been asking what these statements say about God?  Well here is my hope that I gain through this, God is a God who sees hurting people, and God is caring and comforting.

There are all kinds of loss happening right now, the loss of the end of a school year, loss of special events like prom or graduation, loss of vacations, jobs, feelings of security, or just the loss of the way we thought things were supposed to be.  I want to encourage you to walk with you kids through this.  Invite them along for the journey and guide them with your example.  I invite you to look to God for comfort and to help your kids to do the same, God is caring and comforting!