SUNDAY SERVICES:

“Will you help me find my mommy?”  It was a small shaky voice, from a 5ish-year-old named Tommy, that I heard that gorgeous spring morning. 

I had settled into what had seemed to be a deserted pool area at the hotel, found a lounge chair and table, and posited a pile of books.  It was Lent and I was on a quest, wanting to see again and anew the enormity of God’s love manifest on the Friday we call Good. 

It’s Lent - a season where our thoughts and attention turn to repentance, confession, sin, and the cross as we journey to Good Friday and then on to Easter.

A few weeks ago, our small group spoke briefly of sin and children, which sparked some reflection in me and I hope these stories might provoke some thoughts in you as well.

Are we born sinners? Ahhh…some ask, how can an innocent baby be born a sinner? Here are a few stories from my past, that will let you know I have been a sinner all my life, even before I knew cognitively what sin was! I may not have known it at the time, but oh my goodness….

Time and time again I failed horribly at giving up chocolate for Lent.  It was worse than any New Year’s resolution I might have made.  So, long ago, I decided to take up, not give up, things for Lent.  What to take up?

I am excited to hear stories about the revival at Asbury College in KY.  Our daughter-in-law went to be part of it a few days ago.  In the mid-90s, I traveled to revivals in Brownsville, FL, and another in Toronto.  People, like me I suppose, want to be where God is moving mightily, where lives are being touched, changed, and healed.  Maybe we want to see him up close?  Want to be with God.

Have you ever sat in a restaurant booth?  It’s like being in a little pod. You are so close to the people in the booths beside you, but they feel a mile away. You feel enclosed; you have privacy.

Not so if there is a young child in the booth next to you. Kids don’t respect the privacy of the booth. They stand or kneel on the booth seat and peer over the top to see what their neighbors are doing.

They outright stare. 

You are eating your shrimp tacos and chatting with the people in your party, and the neighboring child is watching every move you make. They don’t smile when you smile. They don’t wave when you wave. 

They watch you.

Do you know all there is to know about Holy Week?

Delve a little deeper as I walk you through some little-known stories about the events of Holy Week.

It might change your whole perspective!

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 10:28 

It was the summer of 2020 when these words from Jesus penetrated my heart differently than they had before. Was it really true that Jesus was saying that I just needed to be weary and to be carrying heavy burdens to receive this rest? 

I was about to put this new question to the test.

What would you grab if your house was on fire? 

Many people asked me that question after my house burned down on Christmas of 1989. 

“What did you grab?” people inquired as they painfully thought of all the things they would grab on the way out of the house. 

These were things they couldn’t live without.

Before I answer that question, let me take a minute to give you background on this story.

Have you ever looked down at your gas gauge and thought, Uh oh! The orange light is on and looks like the tank is on Empty!

Moving along on fumes to get the gas station usually works, but there was one time (that I will admit) when Carl and I did indeed run out of gas and had to walk home. 

Granted, it was just about a mile walk, but when you’re wearing heels and it’s a hot Florida summer night, that can be a long walk! An empty gas tank is an easy “empty” to fix – go get the gas can, fill the tank, and you are back in business.

Personal emptiness is so much more difficult than an empty gas tank.

Several weeks ago, I attended the funeral of my boyfriend’s grandfather, a dearly beloved old man. On the back of the bulletin, his wife chose to inscribe one of their favorite quotes, which  she thought fitting:

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world could ever satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” - C.S. Lewis

When I noticed the quote, I stared at it for a whole minute in surprise. For several years, since I first read it, this has been one of my favorite lines, and it echoes in my head quite often. This spring, more often than usual.