Dear Church Family,
I remember when I was ten or eleven coming home from a Christmas vacation in Maine. After a long eight-plus hour drive in the Dodge station wagon, we pulled into our garage. My parents were tired from driving and being cooped up with their less than well-behaved energetic children. To help burn off some of that pent up energy we were told to unload the car. Somehow my little sister got out of that, but the three brothers dutifully (and maybe even with cheer) quickly brought everything inside. One thing I clearly remember is noticing something odd about a door at the back of our house. A closer look revealed that window had been smashed and someone had unlocked the door. Yes, we had been robbed by a thief who took my Dad’s VW Bug on a 500-mile plus journey to the beach (he left a pack of matches from an ocean-front motel) and returned it with an empty tank of gas. How dare anyone break into our house!
I hope no one in our church has been a victim of theft during this time of the Virus Crisis (VC). Yet you may feel you have been robbed lately. You might think an unknown something has taken away things that are precious to you. Let me list a few:
1) We like to believe we are self-reliant, but (VC) steals this sense of control.
2) (VC) might take away your peace with the many messages of fear that various media send your way.
You might forget the great truths of the Bible that remind you of the peace that God gives to His.
3) Your sense of identity and time begins to fade as the daily and weekly rituals that have been part of
your life for years have disappeared as VC brings any sense of routine to an end.
4) I know at least one of you enjoyed having breakfast at Bojangles with a group of friends every day. It
has been almost 60 days since you had the good time that a biscuit, coffee and humans provides. We
were made to be in community yet now we have little face-to-face interaction. (see 2 John 12)
Feel free to make up your own list of precious things that CV has taken from you. At the same time, it is good to count the blessings God has showered on you during this time. Real quick, name three things you have a new appreciation for in recent days.
While we may feel robbed of normalcy, God has blessed us in new and wonderful ways. I trust you miss our times of worship and fellowship. It has been eight Sundays since we last gathered. The Session met last Thursday to discuss plans to re-open. Sadly, with the guidelines laid out by authorities, it looks like we will not meet until July. It hurt to type that last sentence. It may seem like we are victims of theft, but God in His providence will use this to grow us in His grace. And no one can steal that from us.
With great hope,
Pastor Gillikin