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How to Pack for a Journey

NOTE: I was away this weekend. This blog was originally written in August, 2017. 

“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

ALIENS IN PHILADELPHIA

My husband was barricaded in his hospital room at the University of Pennsylvania, threatening doctors and nurses with his IV pole.

“You’re here!” he shouted when he saw me. “I knew you would come. I told you, Diana.” He turned to the nurse that was behind him, the only medical personnel he allowed into the room. “You won’t let them steal my brain, will you?”

“No,” I said. “No one will steal your brain.”

Diana smiled weakly. “Thanks for coming so quickly.”

I shrugged. “Thanks for calling. It’s not every day I have to come save my husband from space aliens who want to do research on his brain.  It’s a new journey.”

In the years since Ron became disabled and I took on the role of the Well Spouse, I had often felt I had not really packed for the journey. The words “ In sickness and in health” don’t prepare you for the possibilities of what CAN happen, such as anesethesia-induced paranoia.

THE GREAT COMMISSION

I often wonder how the Apostles of Jesus felt. The Book of Matthew relates the Great Commission which sent them out into the world. They were told not to burden themselves with luggage: no extra sandals or cloaks, no satchels, no money. They were to depend upon God for their provisions. And they were to freely give to others what had been given to them. They were not trained physicians, but they were to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons “ (Matthew 10:8). Surely, they must have wondered how they—mere mortal men—would be able to accomplish these things!

It’s a question I asked myself many times in my 19 year journey as the Well Spouse. I felt as unprepared as the Apostles as they set out on their missions, untrained in medicine of the mind and body. There were many times I sat alone in a hospital waiting room, just me and God, waiting to hear if Ron would live or die.

EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEYS

The twelve Jesus sent out into the world on the first mission journeys were ordinary men. Four were fishermen. Yet they spread the Gospel throughout the known world and, even though it was illegal to become a Christian, many accepted Jesus as Savior. While the Apostles may have felt inadequate to the task, God gave them the power and the courage they needed.

The journey of a Well Spouse also takes a lot of courage.

After the effects of the anesthesia from the previous day’s surgery wore off, Ron was peaceful, nodding off to sleep in his hospital bed. No more space aliens threatened his existence. His brain was safe for now. I sat next to his hospital bed, calmly knitting a prayer shawl for a friend when Dr. Inger quietly entered the room and checked Ron’s vitals.

“He’s doing okay,” the doctor said. “How about you?”

I gave a shrug. “Just another day. I’m used to it all.”

He nodded. “You’ve been married, what, 25 years?”

“Thirty.”

“Hmmm.” He took a chair from the corner and straddled it. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

I shook my head. “Go ahead.”

“How do you do it? How do you stay with him? Why don’t you just walk away?”

And so I told the good doctor that my vows had been sacred ones. The road had been long and hard, but that did not mean giving up. Whenever I felt inadequate for the journey, whenever I felt as if I had packed the wrong things and just did not have what it would take to move one step further, God gave me what I needed.

“I think,” said Dr. Inger, “I need to study this some more. You’re a strong woman.”

I shook my head. “No,” I said. “I serve a strong God.”

A NEW JOURNEY

My husband’s journey ended in 2019 when he went Home to be with Jesus. I started on a new journey  as I learned to walk the widow’s path and care for my autistic adult son. 

And like the Apostles, I’ve packed light, counting on God to supply whatever I need. 

Where does your journey take you? To hospitals? To prisons? To stores? To your own neighborhood? 

What do you need to pack?

THIS LITTLE LIGHT

Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Matthew 25: 40 (NIV)

A DARK NIGHT

The darkness of the night seeped through the glass windows of the trauma waiting room, separating us into small pockets of gloom. My mother-in-law and father-in-law slumped in hard plastic chairs while my daughter and I alternated between leaning against the wall and standing by the red phone that connected to the operating room. My brother-in-law paced the carpet.

The events of the last few hours had seemed unimaginable, yet here we were, waiting to see if my husband, the victim of a careless driver, would live.

The darkness threatened to consume us. His recovery from such grievous injuries seemed impossible.

ACTS OF MERCY

But God specializes in impossible situations. Just as the trauma surgeons down the hall from us were trying to piece my husband back together, God has carefully designed us as a community of believers to uplift and support one another. 

The theologian John Wesley taught that the works of mercy are one way in which we can receive God’s grace and become more like the image of Christ. As Pastor Amy told us on Sunday, acts of caring for the sick, visiting those in prison, feeding the hungry, giving generously to the needs of others, and inviting strangers home are all the works of mercy. It was a lesson the disciples of Jesus clearly needed to hear.

The image of Christ as King, seated on the throne of Heaven, was one they longed to see, but they didn’t yet grasp that nights of engulfing darkness often proceeds wondrous light (Matthew 10:16-39). To illustrate the need to be involved in acts of mercy, Jesus likened himself to a shepherd who separated his flock of faithful sheep from the disobedient goats. The sheep are those who have demonstrated faithful care for others and are “blessed by the Father” (Matthew 25:34) while the goats go their own stubborn ways.

THE LEAST OF THESE

Pastor Any gave further explanations of “sheep” and “goats.” The “sheep” nations are those who will befriend the remnant of the Jewish people in the last tribution, a dark time indeed. But those “goat nations” will refuse to help “the least of these.”

At some time in everyone’s life, we are “the least of these”: alone, scared, hungry, broken, depressed. And on that wounding night, my daughter and I were numb in the impossibility of the night.

A LIGHT SHINES

Into that sorrowful darkness, God sent several of his servants to bring us light. My best friend arrived to offer prayers and hugs; two deacons from church came with hot coffee and sandwiches; and our then-pastor, Lou, brought encouragement and words of comfort. 

Slowly,  one beam at a time, light trickled into the void. We prayed; we cried; we sang hymns; we even laughed. Our sick spirits were lifted. In the many weeks and years that followed that impossible night, we continued to be lifted up by a multitude of merciful acts. 

Reaching Claymont and beyond for Christ might seem like another impossible mission, but providing one act of mercy–a meal, a prayer, a visit, a kind word–will make the mission we have been given attainable. 

What ministry is calling you to serve one of “the least of these” ?

What act of mercy can you demonstrate today?

CONNECTIONS

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,  so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:4-5 (NIV)

 

A PLACE TO BELONG

My windshield wipers went back and forth, back and forth, clearing the raindrops from my view. The rain outside on this March Sunday matched the sorrow I felt and the tears running down my cheeks. I drove past the church I had attended–with my husband–for most of our married life. But things had changed; I was alone now in my widowhood and as much as I loved the church where we had once walked down the aisle, I no longer felt I fit. 

I needed to find a place where I DID fit, where I was not seen as half of a couple, but as a whole person. And a place where my adult autistic son would not be overwhelmed by the sensory overload of large screens with flashing lights and loud bands.

The need to find a place to belong is a basic human need, first theorized in Maslov in 1943. But it existed long before modern times. A brief glimpse at the Gospels will show us that the need to find a place to fit in, a place to belong, is universal. In Deutoronomy 26-27 we read that the people worshipped together as a community. Holy Days such as Passover were shared with others (Exodus 12:13). But since Ron’s death, I had spent most Sundays sitting alone in the church I had once thought of as home. 

JESUS’ COMPANIONS

I think Jesus Himself knew a thing or two about being on the outside looking in . We need only to look at those He chose as his close companions—several common fishermen, a Zealot, a tax collector, and a thief—to know that Jesus was not hanging out with the Beautiful People. As He left Earth for Heaven, He desired for there to be “unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

Operating on nothing more than a casual comment my husband  made whenever we would drive down Philadelphia Pike and pass The Church of the Atonement, I pulled into the parking lot that Sunday morning a year ago. Ron’s words, “That looks like a nice church” echoed in my mind. I parked my car, wiped my tears, took a deep breath, and walked into the warm embrace of the people of Atonement. The stained glass windows were reminiscent of the Methodist Church my brother and I had attended with my grandmother as children.  The peaceful atmosphere of the building allowed me to believe that my son, too, would feel at peace here. In the people I met that day, Pastor Amy among them, I felt the tangible presence of Christ. 

I knew I had found a new home and a new place to serve Jesus.

GET CONNECTED

How about you? Being connected  to the church–which is the people, not the building–is not always easy. The Book of Acts is full of challenges that faced the early church: changes in leadership (Acts 1:19), immorality (Acts 5:1-10), complaints (Act 6:1), false teaching (Acts 15:1), and diversity (I Thessalonians 19:11). 

But it is through the connections with one another that we are better able to serve and “Continue to meet and to encourage” one another (Hebrews 10:25). 

Where can you use your particular gift from God to serve others (I Corinthians 12:12)? I am pretty sure there is a place here for you at the Church of the Atonement! Come find your own place.

WHY DO WE NEED A CHURCH BLOG?

Excellent question. There’s enough going on in our lives; who needs one more thing to drop into their inbox and make them feel guilty if they don’t read it? I understand completely. My own inbox is always way too full and often I wonder who these people are that are invading my private space. I promise you, though, that a church blog is as much as part of ministry in the 21st century as singing in the choir, teaching Sunday School, or serving breakfast at Knollwood.

Why? People who might never come in the doorway of the Church of the Atonement MIGHT read the blog, or read a blog you share, or read a blog about a subject they googled. In fact, I want to tell you FIVE important reasons why our church needs a blog, and why I’m thrilled Pastor Amy asked me to direct it.

  1. KEEP YOUR MEMBERS INFORMED.
    We’re slowly returning to life after a two-year pandemic that found most of us attending church–and school and work–on our computers. And many of our shut-ins or people who are not local still attend that way. A church blog will keep them informed of important events, remind them mid-week of the sermon, and serve as another connecting point in a world that often lacks personal connections.
  2. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNITY.
    Be honest: how many of us leave church thinking, “What a great message!” then get to the middle of the week and can’t quite remember it. This blog is a place to put what we’re learning into action. Hopefully, you’ll want to make comments and discuss what God is doing in your life.
  3. INCREASE TRAFFIC TO THE WEBSITE.
    We’ve got a lovely revamped website now (Thanks, Randy!) and we want to show it off to as many people as possible, not just in Claymont but beyond. Having a blog that deals with different topics increases our search rankings AND the possibility that casual viewers will find us. Search engines help people to make decisions about what movie to see, what restaurant to visit, and where to vacation. Why not where to worship? Relevant blog posts can get linked to other posts. My most shared post, entitled “God is good. All the time.” reached 438 people!
  4. RAISE VISIBLITY TO THE COMMUNITY.
    Here at Atonement, we’re all about serving the community where we’ve been planted. A blog that features photos and details about events is a personal voucher for our church. And when someone shares a blog, more people are reached. 
  5. CHALLENGE THE CONGREGATION.
    Pastor Amy asked me to direct this blog, but it’s not MY blog; it’s OUR blog. I hope to have other people share their stories of faith and challenges, their God encounters, and how Jesus changed their lives. 

I’m ready to start this new adventure, and I hope you’ll pray for this journey and join me as we live out our faith and WALK WITH JESUS. 

PRAYER REQUEST

CONNECT