Dare to hope again

The biblical story of Abraham and Sarah is a long story. When you start talking about one episode, you end up trying to set the framework for that story, only to go back to a previous story and back to the beginning of God’s call to Abraham. 

That said, I was very taken this week by a particular chapter in the saga. Sarah’s slave girl, Hagar, had a son, Ishmael. Abraham was the father.

Ishmael was Abraham’s only son. When Sarah had her son, Isaac, she wanted Abraham to exile Hagar and Ishmael so that Ishmael wouldn’t share Abraham’s inheritance. “The matter was very distressing to Abraham,” but God promised him that Hagar and Ishmael would be taken care of. So he sent them off with a skin of water.

When the water in the skin was gone, [Hagar] cast the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.

The well was there all along, but in her despair Hagar did not see it.
We care very much about Westbury UMC, and over the years we have occilated between hope and discouragement — even despair. Finally we focused on being faithful to our ministry, and enjoying our music and our friendships. We turned inward. You can only do so much. You’re just one person, after all.
But God’s Word says, “not so fast!” That well of water may be right under our feet. It might be all around us. God’s water of hope is all around us.
Recently Westbury broke 400 in combined worship for the first time in a couple of years (excluding Easter Sundays). We continue to hear positive comments about our music ministries. I think it’s fair to say that the implementation of the video element of our worship services, while still a work in progress, is a positive thing. We have new energy in the 8:30 praise team.
So pray for hope, and, as the Agape anthem says, trust in the Lord:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not upon your own understanding; trust him with all your heart. In every way acknowledge God. Fear the Lord and turn from evil. Honor the Lord with all you have. Be not wise in your eyes; do not reject the discipline of God, for he loves you. With all your heart, love him; honor him all your days. Trust him who loves you. God loves you. from Proverbs 3

Thankfulness (again!)

Thankfulness is always a good thing, even when times are hard. Sometimes, thought, it's a bitter pill.

• Loved ones deal with cancer; we deal with the possibility of losing them.
  
• We miss loved ones that have been gone for years.
  
• We deal with serious medical issues.
  
• We deal with strained or broken relationships.
  
• Some of us deal with the fact that others are angry with us, don't trust us, or plain don't like us!
  
• We deal with three or more of the above!
  

I am personally dealing with the stress of preparing for a major trip for 33 people - with its financial, safety, personal and spiritual dimensions. Oh, did I mention, musical dimensions?
Still, thankfulness is a remedy for me - when I can get there. The psalmist writes in Psalm 116:

I love GOD because he listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy. He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him. Death stared me in the face, hell was hard on my heels. Up against it, I didn't know which way to turn; then I called out to GOD for help: “Please, GOD!” I cried out. “Save my life!” GOD is gracious-it is he who makes things right, our most compassionate God. GOD takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me.
I said to myself, “Relax and rest. GOD has showered you with blessings. Soul, you've been rescued from death; Eye, you've been rescued from tears; And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.”

The title of the Psalm is “Thanksgiving for recovery from illness.”
In the morning, after a difficult sleep, thank God for the sleep that you did get (had one of those two nights ago). Thank God for the friends you do have.
And, my favorite: when you sit up in bed in the morning and your feet touch the floor, say, “Oh, my God! Thank you for another day of life!”
The thankful heart is a heart that is close to the Mind of the Creator.

Spiritual Mentors

Have I told you about Gid Yoder?
In my quest to not be like my father, I found myself watching other adult men and saying, “I want to be like him when I grow up.” Or, in some cases, “I don’t want to be like him when I grow up.”
This practice continued well into my fifties.
Gid taught Bible in the Academy (high school) division at Hesston College. He was about 5 feet 6 inches tall and probably weighed over 250. He was bald, wore thick glasses and had a high, squeeky voice. Among us college students, Gid was a joke.
God has had a way of putting unlikely people in my path to bless me. I’ve been blessed with plenty of “beautiful people,” but the biggest blessings have come from the unlikely ones.
I know what you’re thinking — “you mean unlikely like Moses or David or Samuel or Rahab?” Yep, just like them. Which gives me hope about my prospects, since I don’t identify myself as one of the beautiful people.
In the summer of 1960, before my sophomore year, I got a long-distance (gasp) phone call from Gid. He asked if I wanted to be the choir director at his little Mennonite church in Burrton, about 40 miles from Hesston. Of course I did.
I served that church for four years, and I watched Gid. He was a great pastor and a great preacher, combining the prophetic and the pastoral, blending good Bible teaching with his own wisdom. A pastor who followed Gid in another church said, “Gid plowed a deep furrow.” He had a gift for taking dysfunctional churches and growing them into healthy churches. Burrton had been one of those churches; it was thriving and happy by the time I got there.
I rode with Gid to Burrton twice a week for those four years and we had many good conversations. It was while I was serving with Gid that I felt the tug towards ministry. When I told Gid about it, he said, “you’ll have to work on your people skills, Randy.” True enough.
Gid did our wedding in 1965. He asked me what I wanted him to preach on. I told him to talk about the Biblical basis for marriage. You could tell he worked hard on his assignment. His sermon was full of scripture and he talked about each passage.
It wasn’t his best sermon, but I was impressed by the love and care he showed in this undertaking.
Gid never achieved financial security. He died of a heart attack while working to repair a house he and Stella had just bought. It was a hot Kansas night when it happened, and he hadn’t lost any weight.
Gid went to work at his churches for part-time wages; by the time he left, the churches hired full-time pastors.
Gid was not a success, financially or professionally. But Gid gave me, and I’m sure countless others, priceless gifts of wisdom, hope and laughter.
I have been blessed with many male role models over my life. Gid was the first. I thank God for him, and for all the others.