A Lenten Offering - Courage

Good rainy day,
            As I write, I am looking out the side window of our home. Thirty feet away, one of the many deer who call our neighborhood their home is frightened and in distress. At some point last night he (or she, I didn’t look closely) found himself trapped in our neighbor’s fenced in back porch. He began to kick at the gate and got his lower leg stuck in between the bars. Now, he is soaking wet, lying on the ground with a forlorn look in his eye. When I walk closer to him, he kicks and tries to scoot farther away from me. I paid a quick visit to our neighbors earlier, Animal Rescue will be here soon.
            Talk about a metaphor for where we find ourselves today! Trapped. Able bodied, but I hope wise enough to know that staying inside, or away from crowds, is the healthy place to be. For now. This too shall pass. The scripture I turn to this morning is an easy one to memorize and put into action: Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (I Thessalonians 5:11)
            Something I learned to do has a parent of older kids, especially teens who don’t want to listen to us much anyway, is to text/email positive, uplifting, inspiring thoughts and phrases. They will never let us know whether they make a difference, but I believe they do. Here is what I sent to Desmond and Micaiah this morning: “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” (John Wooden)
            If you all are staying in a safe place and keeping your well-washed hands to yourself…good for you! And thank you from all of us. A suggestion, reach out to someone with your gratitude and encouragement today. Family and church friends, sure, of course. But how about sending a letter of thanks to people working in our senior care facilities, or in the ER, or your pharmacist, or postal delivery person, or the people behind the counter at Arby’s or the take out person at the Chinese restaurant, or pizza delivery guy, or the Uber driver, others you want to suggest?
            As people of faith, we trust a God who rescues and saves people from distress. Let us rejoice and be glad. And, let us be a sign of God’s loving, encouraging presence to those who are serving us!
Grace and peace!
Pastor Michael