From the Pastor’s Heart

There are some wonderfully witty observations in David Heller’s delightful little book; Dear God: Children’s Letters to God. I would like to share a few examples.

• Dear God, what do you think about all those movies made about you around Easter time? I think they’re kind of corny, myself. Your buddy, Charles. (Age 9)
• Dear God, what do you do with families that don’t have much faith? There’s a family on the next block like that. I don’t want to get them in trouble, so I can’t say who. See you in church! Alexis (age 10)
• Dear God, want to hear a joke? What is read, very long, and you hear it right before you go to sleep? Give up? A sermon. Your friend, Frank. (Age 11)
• Dear God, I have doubts about you sometimes. Sometimes, I really believe. Like when I was four and I hurt my arm and you healed it up fast. But my question is, if you could do this why don’t you stop all the bad in the world? Like war…like diseases…like famine…like drugs. And there are other problems in other people’s neighborhoods too. I’ll try to believe more. (Ian, age 10)

There are those days when the sun is shining and life is good, very good! Life overflows with God’s blessings. There is joy and laughter, celebrations and victories, dancing and singing. God is very real and our faith is strong. But when the storm clouds roll in and our lives are turned upside down and we find ourselves like little Ian full of questions and struggling to believe more.

I once read a book to a classroom of students about the pain of losing a friend. The story is written in the first person. It is the story of young Jamie, who tells the story of his feelings when confronted with the death of his best friend in the whole world.

Jamie and Billy were neighbors and inseparable. Billy was always the town and class clown. So on this day when the boys were picking bugs from a bush and Billy was stung by a bee and began to roll on the ground; Jamie thought it was just Billy carrying on again.

Billy was not clowning around. He was allergic to bee stings and he died. Jamie was left to go on living without his best friend. He didn’t know how to do that.

Jamie wanted no part of acknowledging his friend’s death. The night his parents were going to the funeral home Jamie decided he was not going with them. But at the last minute as they were going out the door he yelled for them to wait for him.

Jamie could not believe what he was hearing as people passed by Billy’s casket: “He looks so sweet, just like he is sleeping.” Jamie was furious. He thought to himself: “He’s dead, he will never open his eyes again. How can they say such things?” Jamie ran from the funeral home.

That night he went home and immediately went to bed. As was their routine, his mother came up to his room, tucked him in and kissed him on the forehead. As soon as she left the room Jamie jumped out of bed and gazed out the window. He looked down and saw his flashlight. He thought Billy’s flashlight must be lying on his window sill. At night they would flash codes back and forth. He looked over at Billy’s room and his room was dark. Jamie thought and thought; “Why did he have to die? Why did he have to die?”

He heard his mother coming up the stairs and ran back to bed and pretended to be asleep. She kissed him once again and left. She no sooner left the room and Jamie had wished he had not pretended to be asleep.

He got up and looked out the window again. He saw his mother walking across the yard to Billy’s house. She was going to visit Billy’s mom and try to comfort her. How he wished she had stayed. He knew Billy’s mom needed her but he needed her too. He thought; “If only she would come back and hold me like she did when I was a baby.”

He was afraid and confused. He wondered if it was wrong to want to be held. He needed to be cuddled and loved. He needed to be reassured that he was going to be okay. He needed to feel safe.

He crawled back to bed and wished his mother were there. Then he heard footsteps again. It was his father. He came into the room, picked Jamie up as though he were a baby and squeezed tight and cuddled him. He never thought of his father, but, why not?

There is much joy in life but we also know there is much pain, as well. I know it from personal experience and I know it as a Pastor. Pain and grief are often shared. But I also know there are many deep hurts, wounds and scars that we often keep to ourselves. In both cases we need healing.

What do we do when we are walking in Ian’s shoes and have so many unanswered questions? What do we do when we find ourselves like Billy, wanting to be held and reassured of a safe place and that life will be okay? Where do we turn?

Like Billy, we often overlook the obvious. Why not the father…our heavenly Father?
Our Heavenly Father through his Son, says to each of us; “Come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” The Apostle Paul in Romans reminds us: “What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us form the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I invite you to bring your joys as well as your hurts to worship where you will find your church family and Pastor waiting and willing to celebrate with you or to hold you and care for you. Regardless of our age, we can come to the altar of God where we will find our Heavenly Father eagerly waiting to hold us in His arms, reassuring us that in His love everything will be more than okay.

Blessings,

Pastor Russel