Got Sand in Your Shoes?

With Memorial Day still fresh on our minds, we are now unofficially in the season of summer.   Summer is the season when many folks consider a trip to their favorite vacation destination though I am not sure that will come to fruition as the pandemic continues.  One place many visit in the summer in our area is the Carolina coast.  When Ann and I go to the beach for a time of vacation or rest, we take many things with us.  It seems that we always bring back home more than we brought with us.  One of the things that we seem to always bring back, whether we like it or not, is not just dirty clothes or sunburn.   We seem to always bring back sand.    Sand is somewhat aggravating, isn’t it?  We wash it off our feet and shoes, and we vacuum it out of our cars.

Have you ever thought about how many grains of sand are on the beach?  Long ago, God did.  In Genesis 22:17, we read where God tells Abraham, “17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies”.  As I briefly walk the beach, it occurs  to me that there in the sand is a reminder of the promise and hope of God that desires for each one of us and all of us to be His children.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy

 

 

 

PRAYER

            Lord God,  we  thank you for the truth that you desire to adopt all of us to be your children.  We rejoice, O Lord that such a promise is based not on our goodness, but on the salvation of ours through Jesus Christ that is only a prayer away.  Through the power of your Holy Spirit, help our status as your sons and daughters to be seen in our lives day by day; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Way to go, Class of 2020

 This is the time of year for graduations though they are different this year due to the health concerns among us.     My mother was the person in my life that always reminded me of  the importance of education.  I can remember her saying many times that “education is something that no one can ever take away from you.”   

In this time of year, let us reflect on the accomplishments of our graduates as they receive the fruits of their labors-  degrees, scholarships, honors, and awards.     Yet, this is also a time of year for the graduates and others to realize that they did receive their degree without the assistance and help of others.  For every graduate, there is a parent making financial sacrifices that college tuition and fees can be paid… a teacher that encouraged them to believe “you can do it”… and people who believed in them when the graduate did not believe in themselves. 

The same is true of not only our graduates, but all of us.  So much of the goodness of life that we enjoy in life is a gift from God through someone else.  Deuteronomy 6:10-12 reminds us of the same when we read, “ 10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery”.

 

  

PRAYER

O God,   bless the college and high school graduates among us.   As they face the unknowns of the future, help them to know that they do not walk alone.   We give you thanks for their accomplishments and for the many persons who have given so much that each graduate might come to this moment in their lives.    Help our graduates to go and be a blessing for you;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Need a Haircut?

 I was looking in the mirror recently and came to the conclusion that I needed a haircut.   50 years ago,  I would not have thought so as in those days I wore my hair long like most of my peers male and female.   The main reason I need a haircut is this:  barber shops have been closed by  the order of the governor of my state due to the current pandemic.    So, I have been waiting   for the barber shop to open back up.   

Now, perhaps some of you are thinking I could get a member of  my household to cut my hair but I decline to try that because of this story.  I recall a time over 50 years ago when my Mom got the idea that she would cut the hair of my brother, Tony, and I.   Somehow in the course of conversation with our neighbors, Mom discovered that they gave their children haircuts.   My Mom was always eager to save money, and saving a grand total of less than $5 seemed a good reason for Mom to give it a try.   I was timid at the prospect of Mom cutting our hair from the start.  While my Mom had many wonderful talents,  I was skeptical  at the thought that Mom could cut my hair as well as Mr. Castle at our local barber shop in Burlington.   So, I let my brother, Tony, be the first one in Mom’s barber chair.    When Mom was finished cutting Tony’s hair, it was a sight that was not something to be proud of.  Tony wore a hat to school for weeks until his hair grew back out and Mr. Castle could repair the damage at his barber shop.

I don’t know about you, but this pandemic has reminded me that there many things that have been a part of my daily life that I have taken for granted like getting my hair cut.   As Joni Mitchell sang many years ago:   “Don’t it always seem that you don’t know what you got till it is gone.”  Here is a partial  list of things that this pandemic has reminded me that I have taken for granted in days past:

·         Going to church to worship

·         Spending time with friends and family

·         Enjoying lunch or dinner in a restaurant

·         Attending a music concert live and in person

·         Travelling to see the beautiful sights of this world

In Luke 17, we hear of a time when Jesus encounters a band of lepers.  It might be fair to say that leprosy meant that these lepers had to keep  their “social distance” from their family, community, and faith community due to their condition.   Jesus, the great physician, heals them all.  Despite their healing, Luke (a physician himself) tells us that only one of the ten bothers  to offer gratitude to Jesus.  I don’t know about you, but I am one of those nine for I have taken too many gifts  in my life for granted.  If you see me and I look like a need a haircut, perhaps I am simply trying to relive the days of my youth.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

  

PRAYER

O God,   you are the giver of all good things.   Forgive me for my blindness of the gifts and joys that I know each day. Give me a grateful heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

A Parent in a Different Way

            Mothers Day is the second Sunday in May.  In a variety of ways, folks are giving thanks in these days for  the mother in their lives.      While it is good and right to follow the words of the commandment to “honor our father and mother”, we also have spiritual mothers and fathers in the faith.  All of us have youth counselors, Sunday School teachers, and friends in the Christian life who have nurtured us, encouraged us, and guided us. 

            In I Samuel 3, we hear the call of Samuel to be God’s messenger.   During the evening, 3 times Samuel hears his name being called.  He mistakenly thinks that Eli the priest is calling him, so he rushes to Eli’s side.  After Samuel comes to him for a third time, we hear these words in I Samuel 3:8-9, “Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.  Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears.’”   Samuel was only able to discern God’s call and claim upon his life because of the guidance of Eli. 

            As Samuel had Eli to encourage, guide, and nurture him in his spiritual journey, I give thanks to God regularly for the clergy and laity in the past and in the future who have guided me to understand God’s call in my life.  In response to that, I encourage you to do two things:  First, give thanks to God for those spiritual mothers and fathers in your life, and let those persons know you appreciate them.  God has blessed your life through those persons, so express your thanksgivings.  Secondly, let us seek to imitate the life of Christ that we might become spiritual mothers and fathers in the faith for someone else.  Faith is to be lived and shared;  I invite you to share that faith by helping guide, encourage, and nurture the Christian life of others by who you are. 

 

 

PRAYER

            Thank you, God, for those persons in my spiritual journey that have helped me know you and know more about you.  Help me to not only admire them and thank him, but to follow them in seeking to imitate Christ;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.