Good morning…

Yesterday morning, tragedy severed the life of another young man for whom I love to serve homemade Stromboli. Now, huddled together, we nestle into the nurturing nest God is building within our online community. How do we respond to this special kind of grief, processing the life-changing loss of family and friends ravaged by the effects of deep angst and addiction? How will we care for the needs of the most vulnerable in our midst? How might we ground down into the God, our immovable Rock, the Redeemer of everything?

“Hindsight is 20/20,” they say, but this week has oddly been keen foresight for us. As we savor this Sabbath, we scroll back over our week of past posts to witness God preparing our community to endure another devastating loss. Sharing life’s load, morning by morning, this week God pulled down our sail from the whirlwind of the world, quietly carrying us on the unforced rhythms of grace. Simplify. Stop. Stop before starting.

I step back to marvel at God’s presence among us this week.

• “What if you had laid your pen aside for the summer and these messages were missed? Yes God would continue to speak in other ways and His presence would still be felt, but we would have missed the blessing of seeing Him work through the connectedness of this community.”
• “I am smiling as I see why God has you writing this summer. People are hurting and transitioning and need His perspective. They need the nurture and support of community and of our Lord.”

…Sue…