When Everything Is Falling Apart

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Terry and John

Our friend, Lydia, is a nurse with five children who, as a child, had survived emotional and sexual abuse. Still, she worked long hours with much kindness, while raising her own four children. Then one day her husband developed a very serious heart condition. Lydia was overwhelmed. So, she turned to parish friends. They listened, babysat and prayed with her often, even daily, until two years later, when her husband died in surgery at the age of forty-two. More prayer and support was needed. Then after five more years, when Lydia had finally recovered, her teen-age son was murdered in a drug related incident. Lydia’s parish friends rose to the challenge again. They put into practice some of these suggestions for reaching out to someone experiencing life-altering needs, or difficult transitions.

  1. Choose ONE such person in your circle of family and friends to pray for every day. Speak to God in a way that is beyond your normal routine; standing, kneeling, speaking aloud or singing.
  2. Recall the ways Jesus reached out to someone in similar circumstances. Then picture Jesus beside this person.
  3. Choose one concrete way to offer regular, long-term support; a weekly phone call, a bi-weekly greeting card, or a small act of ongoing service that is meaningful to him or her.
  4. Realize your limits. It may take a whole small community to offer prayer-filled help together. Ask yourself if you are in a position to mobilize such a group.
  5. Whatever you do, respond with gentle compassion, or as Scripture puts it, “Do not break a bruised reed.” Matthew 12:20

By the grace of God and through her small faith sharing group, Lydia was able to seek out and forgive her son’s murderer. She also became a public advocate for abolishing the death penalty. One of her favorite prayers became, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion… who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.” (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

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Where is God: Near, Far or Nowhere?

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Terry and John

Exploring your answers to this question, both in good times and in bad, is not easy. And it can be even more difficult to watch a friend wrestle with God’s often mysterious presence. For instance, when facing devastating loss, violence or isolation a first response is often, “Don’t you care, God? Why aren’t you here to stop this?”  And even when life is good, it is tempting to focus on enjoying ourselves and leaving Jesus out of the picture.

The truth is that having a fulfilling relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit means embracing a paradox. God is BOTH intimately close to us, and enticingly beyond us, no matter what happens. The challenge is to acknowledge these two realities, while moving a few steps closer to an awareness of God. Here are some suggestions to use when God seems absent.

  1. Acknowledge God, our Father and Creator, who is both as near as your next breath and yet magnificent enough to sustain the whole universe. A. Sit quietly for a few minutes, while inhaling with the words “My holy” and exhaling with the word “Father” or “Creator”. B. Walk in a park or woods and thank God for each bush, flower or cloud. C. Pray with nature photos on Instagram.
  2. Listen to Jesus-centered music A. Add songs to a playlist and sing in your car. B. Pray one or two songs when you wake up or go to sleep, like Dan Schutte’s song, “Yahweh, I Know you are Near”. C. Begin faith sharing conversations by reciting a favorite hymn with a friend.
  3. Search out the Holy Spirit’s presence in the Psalms, who helps us give voice to every human emotion. Psalms about feeling distant from God are in the beginning of the Book. Psalms about God, as the source of our joy, are near the end.
  4. Be patient when you pray. God is beyond imagining, emotions, or understanding. A. Ask the Holy Spirit to come into your heart. B. Cultivate gifts of awe and trust when Jesus seems distant. Remember, the Holy Spirit is not a vending machine, but an awesome and intriguing friend.
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Choose Christ over Chaos!

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Terry and John

Ever sat on the edge of you seat, wondering if a movie character will live or die? Ever succumb to worry, while waiting for news about a loved one, who is in a critical situation? Ever dread reading a newspaper or cringe at negative entries on Facebook?

There are so many ways that a crucial event can end, but really, there are only three outcomes. 1. Good is defeated by evil. To believe in this tragic vision of life is to choose depression and a lack of meaning as the ultimate human reality. 2. Good and evil are locked in an endless battle. To select this mixed bag as the truth is to espouse dualism over the message of the Gospel.  3. Good triumphs over evil. This outcome is what followers of Jesus, our redeemer, are called to embrace as a way of life.

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again and again and again! So “praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3

When our grandson was about three, he would toddle over with a huge pile of books for us to read; then snuggle up close, ready for an adventure. One day, Therese finished the first book with the words, “The End!” Edward was intrigued. Then came the second book, which concluded with, “The End!” After the third book, Edward didn’t even want to read the whole story, just the last page, with “The End!” Book after book crossed over Therese’s lap with the same result. Edward’s eyes got bigger and bigger, until he broke out into an uproarious laugh.

We too can be like Edward, because every trial, every daily story, is truly so infused with God’s loving presence, that we can say, “Jesus, you are the beginning and THE END. I choose you, even in the midst of every darkness. Give me the grace to believe that you will triumph and give me life everlasting. The End!”

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