a challenge to faith
It has been a while since I've posted...due to a crisis in the office here. April 2, Pastor was away and I was covering services. I arrived in the office to discover that my laptop had been stolen overnight. That was highly troubling but I had no idea that things were yet to get much, much worse. Over the course of this past week, we were "hit" by burglaries almost every night. In this time of preparation for Holy Week, our computers and DVD were taken. We arrive in the morning to see empty spaces where our computers were. The thieves went through my desk in my office too (I know this because a small amount of cash was missing). We have taken security precautions, but they have not helped a lot. We look to the future and wonder when it will end. We suspect it is drug-related. But we don't know for sure. It has been difficult getting a newsletter and bulletins printed in the office.
And there are other things of turmoil, brokenness, and sickness that are occuring in the people and families of our church. Not the least of which is my dad's depth of sickness with cancer. My heart aches with all of this. During worship on Sunday, we sang "Lead me to Calvary" and I thought how Calvary was anywhere but where I wanted to be. And yet it seemed precisely where I was being put...where we are all being put here. Now I will be honest. When things like this happen, it can be very hard to believe in God. Why isn't He stoppig this? This is His church, after all. But like Peter I say, "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." There is nowhere else to turn. "Lord, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You."
And yet...there are benefits of not having a computer. We have a couple of quite old ones left in the office that I can check email on. But in my office, there is quiet. Space on my desk. I am forced to think carefully instead of hyperactively. There is a restfulness that starts to be felt when there is no machine calling my name (of course, there is always the cell phone). Yesterday, I spent the afternoon browsing bookstores and libraries and soaking up the fresh air.
Where this all will end, I do not know.
And there are other things of turmoil, brokenness, and sickness that are occuring in the people and families of our church. Not the least of which is my dad's depth of sickness with cancer. My heart aches with all of this. During worship on Sunday, we sang "Lead me to Calvary" and I thought how Calvary was anywhere but where I wanted to be. And yet it seemed precisely where I was being put...where we are all being put here. Now I will be honest. When things like this happen, it can be very hard to believe in God. Why isn't He stoppig this? This is His church, after all. But like Peter I say, "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." There is nowhere else to turn. "Lord, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You."
And yet...there are benefits of not having a computer. We have a couple of quite old ones left in the office that I can check email on. But in my office, there is quiet. Space on my desk. I am forced to think carefully instead of hyperactively. There is a restfulness that starts to be felt when there is no machine calling my name (of course, there is always the cell phone). Yesterday, I spent the afternoon browsing bookstores and libraries and soaking up the fresh air.
Where this all will end, I do not know.
1 Comments:
At 4:40 PM,
Val said…
Sorry to hear about the crimes. I work at a church in a high-crime area and it is very frustrating indeed. I have no advice, really, except to keep your chin--and your insurance payments--up.
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