Summer, the season, still rages on, but summer vacation is coming swiftly to an end. Soon, school will start up and families will fall into a familiar routine, while others, whose children may just be reaching school age, adjust to a new routine. We coordinate schedules, consult calendars, and do what we can to adopt a rhythm that makes life seem as normal as possible, even with all the hustle. But I want to challenge that notion. What we often seek, when wanting a life as “normal” as possible, is a life that is uneventful; involving nothing that will shake our plans and routines. But that is not the normal life of a dedicated Christian. The “normal” life of a dedicated believer is characterized by the stability of US, not by the stability of the world around us. Indeed, we read in the pages of the New Testament, both in the historical account of Acts and in the instructions of the epistles, that circumstances can be wildly disruptive, but that God works great things as we keep our eyes on Him in the middle of all of it.
We at LWFC have had quite a summer, haven’t we? Jim Ashley went to Heaven in April. Norma Dunkman went to Heaven in June. Ashley Crider suffered a brain aneurysm in May. In June, Brenda broke her leg. So two of our staff members have been out of the office for extended periods. In addition to all that there have been several hospitalizations, families moving, and just about everything you can imagine to keep us busy, and, if we are not careful, distracted. With new developments, it can be easy to forget those who have been fighting longer battles, like Dad (Pastor Larry) and Jenny Good. And I’m only referencing some specific people, of course. I want you to know that I pray for you, the congregation of LWFC in general, and specifically when you share a prayer concern with me. The reason I bring all these “storms” up is that in the middle of that, we had Summer Scream for the youth, and we had VBS. Summer Scream was a blessing as usual; I’m especially grateful for the impact it had on my son. And I was blessed by the people who stepped up and took on leadership roles in Matt’s absence, and for the people who made time to drive our campers to Rushville. But I’ll be honest; we briefly considered not doing VBS this year. Nothing in the Bible says we have to do it, and people were stretched thin and awfully busy. I really believe the Lord spoke to me concerning that, though, and that we were to forge ahead and make VBS happen. The usual suspects rose to the challenge, as well as several others, and VBS was a huge success! Several children gave their hearts to Jesus, and we raised over $5,000 for the Rackleys’ ministry in Mexico. The meals were excellent, the song leaders were superb, and although I didn’t see all the kids in every environment, the groups we had in the Bible lesson were the best and most attentive I can remember ever having. Ultimately, all praise and glory belongs to God. But God works through willing vessels, and you guys REALLY stepped up to the challenge. Thank you! T h a n k y o u s o m u c h for every way you contributed to not only the success of VBS, but for every way you pulled together as a church family for everyone fighting a battle; for BEING the church! We have been in a difficult season, but seasons change. In the midst of all of it, though, I urge you to remember that there is no guarantee of “normal” as the world describes it. “Normal” is another way of thinking about “natural”, and we are to live in the supernatural. God has, again, proven himself willing and able to work great things right in the middle of “abnormal” times. Instability and the unexpected may arise; we may go through seasons of genuine demonic attack; but God is bigger than all of that, and because God, the Holy Spirit, dwells in us, we have nothing to fear and can, as Paul urges us in his letter to the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”
Rejoicing with you, and speaking over you . . .
Blessings,
