So the other day, I apparently broke my pinky toe. I wasn't looking at what I was doing and slammed my foot into a wooden chair. Oh, boy! It hurt so bad. Then days afterward my toe and the area around it turned purple with a side of green. It was ugly, I'll tell you! The worst part is that I knew we were going away for a few days. And the place we were going required a lot of walking and standing. How was that going to happen, I worried and thought and worried some more.
But the funny thing was, it was fine. I mean it still kind of hurt and I had to tape two of my toes together, but riding in the car I could keep my foot elevated. And my daughter and son-in-law (and husband)were solicitous and kind in considering where we went and how we got there. I'm a terrible patient, but they managed to be a balm to me and my sore toe.
The community of faith is like that. A balm to me (sore toe or not). There are many times I have entered the door unsure of my place in the world and have been welcomed. There have been other times when I arrogantly strolled to the pew and felt humbled by the newborn being baptized who became my brother or sister by that mere fact. The church, hopefully, any church, can be a center of calm or it can be a prickly reminder that the world is not as it should be unless we DO something about it. That's what is so great about Pastor Jay's sermons; he reminds us not just of the fact that God is with us at all times (I need that reminder), but that we have things to do because we are the hands and feet of the one who so richly blessed us! NOT because we have to, but because that abundant love and grace cannot be contained by such a small vessel as a human being (I need that reminder as well).
I am thankful--well, that's such a tame word--appreciative? These words seem lukewarm for the gratitude I feel for the community of faith that is here. And happy that they care, here, for me, when I need help and healing, even without a broken toe.
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