Reflections

Nothing helps you grasp God’s love for His children more than becoming a parent. Here are some thoughts from one of our new mothers as she is beginning this journey called parenthood.

Mother’s Day Thoughts by Hannah Orr

One year ago I began a new journey. On Mother’s Day last year, I found out I was pregnant with the little soul that has become our sweet Vivian. It’s been a year of excitement, exhaustion, anxiety, and joy. It’s also been a year of many firsts.

One of the first occurred last weekend. After two years, Covid finally hit our family. When Vivian developed a high fever, we rushed to the emergency room where we had baby’s first Covid test, baby’s first x-ray, and baby’s first steroid treatment. Thankfully, Vivian bounced back pretty quickly and within a few days, she was fever free and back to her normal happy self, through still extra tried and congested. That moment in the ER was the scariest moment of my life, but it also showed me just how much I’m capable of for my child. I have never been more exhausted in my life than I was during that night, but there was absolutely nothing that could stop me from holding my daughter as she cried and needed comfort. I have hardly left her side since Saturday morning.

We often compare God to a father - a strong, bold protector who loves and takes care of His children with swords of fire, a warrior who solves problems and slays giants. But sometimes we forget that God also acts as a mother - knowing us before we took our first breath, holding us in the quiet moments, protecting us like a mama bear who will stop at absolutely nothing to ensure the safety of her cubs.

Mothers are warriors, protectors, comforters, healers, best friends, and wise counselors. They often get lost in the loud but still have immense power in the quiet. I think that’s a pretty good comparison for our God. So on this Mother’s Day, I’m thankful for my own mother and this baby who made me a mother. But I’m also thankful for my Jesus, who I know looks at me and loves me the same way I love my girl. 💜

WHO IS THIS?

Journeys take all sorts of paths as we go through life. Sometimes it is the family you grew up in that leads you to your commitment to Christ. We have seen that with two of our teens this spring as they made their commitment to Christ and we got to rejoice with them as they were baptized. Other times, the path to Jesus is through a friend who talks to us and helps us understand God’s love. And sometimes it is through a different path, which was the case with the individual you are reading about in this article.

This individual had been at their job for a number of years when something changed in the workplace. In this case, it was a situation where one group at work became a part of another group. It happens at times, maybe through consolidation or restructuring, maybe through the business world adapting and things just change. But I am sure this person would agree that it wasn’t due to any of those things: but it happened because of the hand of God.

When someone is moved into a new position, it was typical for the boss to go around and introduce everyone to their new co-workers. That is where these two individuals met and began a relationship as co-workers. They would see each other as they would interact at work, but that was pretty much the extent of their interaction. That is, until one day a few years later when he called into work and she answered the phone.

A tragedy had happened in his life. He needed to take a couple of days off and needed to get word to the boss to report he wouldn’t be in for a couple of days. A few months later, he was leaving at the end of the day and she was walking a little behind him. Remembering the phone call, she asked him how he and his family were doing. They talked a bit and then she asked him if he attended church anywhere. This made him stop and think. He had gone to a Catholic church when he was younger and a Luthern church at some point, but somehow life had just gotten in the way. The continued stress and grief he was living under and this simple question Do you go to church anywhere? got him thinking maybe it was time to reconnect with God. He decided to visit a Church of Christ that was nearby where he lived. She warned him that it may be very different from what he had experienced in the past! But he liked the difference right away. One of the first people he met when he first attended the Church of Christ was Loraine Jones who is a member of SL Church of Christ today!

That first visit was in 1989 and the next year he was baptized into Christ. Now we know the rest of the story as he continues to serve the congregation here. But that is not the end of these coworkers’ stories.

They began to talk together when groups from work would go out to lunch. This led to checking in on each other at work, talking about how things were going at their churches, him giving her a ride when her car was broken. . .That led to more discussions and to more time together and eventually to 29 years of marriage until Ruth passed away a year and a half ago. If you hadn’t figured it out by now, you know this man as Leo Casey.

Ruth was a wonderful Christian woman who cared about people. She cared enough to follow up on a phone call where someone had needed time off to deal with a tragedy in his life. She cared enough to ask. And because she did, Leo was doubly blessed--with 29 years of life with her and an eternity with God.

Now, I am not saying you may end up marrying someone from work, but what kind of effect can you have by being there? It could be an eternal one.

PRAYING THROUGH PENTECOST

He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

I have always loved what James writes about Elijah here in chapter 5 verses 17 & 18. He prayed, as the NIV states, "earnestly" and it did not rain for three and a half years. Think about the drought this would have caused, and did cause. We see this played out in 1Kings chapters 17 & 18. He prays a second time and the rain starts to fall. This is part of the situation where God shows He is God when it comes to those that followed Baal and worshiped this false god. It all culminates with the dramatic events on Mount Carmel. We see the power of God, the power of prayer!

But what I have left out up to this point is how James 5:17 starts. Elijah was a man just like us. I like this equally as much as the events that played out on the mountain in Israel. Yes, Elijah was a tremendous servant of God, but he was human just like us. The power that kept the rain in the heavens rather than falling to the ground was not of him, but of God. And so--though Elijah was a man and eventually died--the power from God did not.

We need to be just like Elijah! No, not climbing up the side of a mountain to call down fire to consume a sacrifice; but, by trusting in God. We need to be focused, determined, and intentional in our prayers. We need to step out and step up while falling to our knees beseeching God as we go forward here at 21860 Pontiac Trail. We need to be just like Elijah!

To help us stay focused in our prayers we will be praying from Easter through Pentecost. Pentecost was one of several festivals God instituted with Israel in order to help them remember the past as they looked forward to the future. From a Christian perspective, it was as memorable as the day Peter stood up to preach about the risen Christ when 3,000 people committed their lives to Christ and were baptized. The term means “50th” and refers to the 50 weeks and a day.

I want us to use this time of these seven weeks to focus on prayer. Each week during the days leading up to Pentecost we will have a different aspect of how we are to live and will spend time praying about those aspects that week. Let’s see what God can do through this congregation as we commit those seven weeks to prayer. After all, we are merely humans. . . just like Elijah.

Just a human,

Randy