Category: Faith Stories

A few days ago, I sat comfortably with my youngest granddaughter, Anna, and as we snuggled together, relishing time and love, she reached up and touched a tiny cross at the nape of my neck. “Is that your forever necklace?” I was puzzled and she explained, “Well, Mama has a necklace that she wears every day. It’s her ‘forever necklace.’”

Immediately I knew what she was talking about because I remember picking out that particular necklace and giving it to her mom as a gift.

I explained that yes, it was my favorite lil’ cross, and yes, I guess it was my “forever necklace,” as I wear it almost every day.

Then I pondered the deeper meaning, my “forever cross.” Daily I wear that cross, a tiny ornamental piece of jewelry, and I’ve noticed that when something worrisome or extraordinarily joyful happens, I automatically reach up to that little cross at my neck and hold on to it fast, clutched in my fist. It’s just a physical response, and that lil’ cross is nothing magical in and of itself. Yet, it represents sooo much more to me! It represents faith of the “old rugged cross” to which I cling. And, by the same token, when my faith is weak, as it often is, it represents a deep hunger of the heart, a fervent prayer that cries out, “Oh, please, please, please, Lord, help me!”

When I bathe and dress for the day and put on that tiny cross, I’m reminded to Whom I belong, I’m reminded Whose family I represent, and I remember Who goes before me and with me in difficult circumstances. I’m reminded that even though some days are overly quiet and too long, I know that I’m not alone because He is with me. I’m reminded of the love He showed to me through the substitutionary death of His son. I’m reminded of His deep blessing of grace that invites me into eternal life, my “forever life!”

Yes, Anna, it is, indeed, my “forever necklace!”

“Bootsie” Johnston

The Lord had done great things for us; we were joyful…Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.

Psalm 126: 3, 5

How can you sign for your 17-year-old son to join the Marines? Well, it is an honorable profession. What if he gets killed? He could be killed by walking across the street and a bus hitting him. More come back from a war than those who do not.

Mama, I am shipping out to Iraq tomorrow. Remember that we love you very much!! Always remember that God loves you!

Hello, Mama. Have you and Daddy been listening to the news? Why do you ask? Oh, we had a bomb at Al Asad, and I did not want you to worry. We are all fine. The Mosque, however, is not.

Mama, I am okay. I got blown off the back of a truck when an IED hit. I landed in a sand dune. All I could think was, OH NO! They are going to tell my Mama that I drowned in sand. An MP jumped off the truck and asked me if I could run. I said I could, so we ran and hung on the last vehicle in the convoy. You mean you became a moving target. Well, yes, a convoy does not stop for anything because there might be another attack.

I saved a Captain from electrocution today. He was standing in water and touched a live wire. What did you do? I ran and kicked his knees to get him out of the water. Oh, so then you could have been electrocuted. No, I was not in the water.

Today, on our convoy the driver was speeding over the bumpy dirt roads.  I got bounced out of the back of the truck. I looked down and saw the road beneath me. Thank God, the Sergeant reached out and grabbed my arm. He pulled me back into the truck. My head hit the truck bed, and I blacked out.  Mama, the MPs handcuffed me today and took me to the Naval hospital. I had to see the psychiatrist. I probably have PTSD.

Yes, I believed even when all this happened, and I will continue to believe. 

Prayer: 
Oh, Holy God, continue to be with us as we live our daily lives. Although things are rough for many people this year, we live with the HOPE and KNOWLEDGE of the resurrection. The waiting during this pandemic has allowed us to make room in our hearts and minds for You. Make us grow stronger with each day of waiting for Your redemption of the world. Amen.

Daphne G. Grady
Mother of Paul Grady Madden, USMC, honorably discharged June, 2009

Faith Stories – Star Word: Wholeness

We were taught as small children that two halves and four quarters make a whole. Eight pieces to a pizza, five hundred pieces to a puzzle. That even one piece missing would make it incomplete. As little girls, we were told that Cinderella needed both her shoes to become a princess, and it was when she found the missing half that she found her true love.

We grew up collecting our toys, collecting our cards, keeping our sets, and wishing for the rest. 

We dreamed of our perfect husband waiting for us at the other end of the aisle, being told to constantly be on the lookout for the man we would call our other half. 

We grew up, still as children but quite older than before, feeling strong and ready to face the world. We had all our pieces in our arsenal, we knew we were properly indestructible. 

But as we transformed from children into young ladies, we heard all the songs and watched all the movies that told us how to be complete. We questioned if we were in fact whole, but what if there really was a part missing to our heart and soul? Our mothers taught us to suck in our stomachs and curl our hair, how to be to become part of the perfect pair.  

Two tomorrows, a path to each unknown. His hands embraced me as his own. All of my hopes and dreams brought to fruition in the boy who stood before me. The one to give me all the pieces that I had been missing. Yearning for his touch, hungry for his kiss. Little did I know that his craving was different than my own. Strong and overpowering, his greediness sucked what was left of my own. A traitorous mouth with traitorous teeth, he stole all the parts of me that I thought I could forever keep. Her eyes lost their shine, her mouth lost its smile. For her Prince Charming didn’t give her the missing half, but instead took half of what she had left. Down to a fourth, he dug harder into her wounds. Stealing her light, drowning her fire, her first love transformed her world into one that lacked all of her tenderness and desire. A body, missing her heart and soul, having lost all its innocence and purity. Left behind to question what made her so different from the rest and why her life had turned out so differently from what she had always imagined.

Now, a woman in her prime, she was certain that she would find the piece that had become misplaced. Country to country, coast to coast, searching for what she needed the most. Looking at every man as her answer. For he would be the one to give back to her what the first had taken. Her friends moved forward in their lives, down the path she wished she could have taken, introducing her to the ones they called their “better half,” as if him being the better made her all the lesser.

She continued to run even farther away, living in exotic lands, speaking in foreign tongues, thinking that if she searched the ends of the earth that one day she would stumble upon what she forever sought. Throwing coins into every fountain she crossed, seeking the sky for shooting stars, she sent out her wishes at every chance she got. 

She danced between the snowflakes in Russia, she swam in the waters of Brazil, she climbed to the highest peaks in Switzerland, she basked in the sun of France. She explored the globe to find what could make her whole, only to revel in the beauty of the world that God had created for her. The waters unfathomably deep, the skies boundlessly vast, the stars in the sky immeasurable. For if these parts of His greatest creation were uncountable, why must she count her own? For He already knew every piece of her, telling her that the very hairs of her head were all numbered. Must she search and count, when He had it already figured out? She is of more value than the sparrows, the ones that were born with wings who fly freely through the heavens. She watches them dance through the celestial blue, singing songs of delight and praise. And if they can sing, how can she keep from singing? She began to frolic through nature, this time, eyes wandering, soaking it all in rather than using it for her own gain. If He created an entire universe so breathtakingly made, couldn’t He create someone so small just as beautifully and completely made?

The questions filled her mind, the old thoughts replaced by the new, of what more of herself she had yet to meet – those parts of her that had always been with her no matter how far she had run. 

And then she found her answer, buried deep within her. She found her missing piece. She found her. She found ME. 

…

I had always thought they taught us fractions to show us how we were so easily breakable, but instead, maybe I was always meant to learn that each piece of me holds something special of its own. Like the sky, the birds, the waters, the trees, and every beautiful piece that makes up our world. And within me, each piece was perfectly chosen and made by Him, holding every talent, desire, and inspiration of my own. For it was God who led me from one end of the earth to the other to dance in His beauty, to frolic through His wonders, to prance through His rain. 

He made us perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, each piece uniquely and wonderfully made to hold every beautiful thing that makes us who He created us to be. For how can I be incomplete when I come from God? For He has made me in His image, He who is eternally whole. Through His love, I am made whole. I may have searched the entirety of His creation to find what I am missing, only to find it was buried within me the entire time. 

For the missing piece, the other half, everything that I had been searching for wasn’t missing at all. 

Madeline Massett

Star Words

During Epiphany worship on January 3, each of us at St. John’s was offered a special word for the year printed on a star. We are following our individual stars and opening our hearts and minds to see where it takes us in 2021. You can read more here. If you have a reflection about your Star Word, we’d love to hear about it and publish it too.

As Long As Frogs Sing

On the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works I will meditate.

Psalm 145:5

God calls us to love life, to luxuriate in the blessings he has given us and continues to give throughout our lives. We are called simply to be attentive, to remove ourselves from the hundreds of daily distractions long enough to be aware, to notice, to rest in the quiet, to look and to listen. All around each of us, little miracles flare up often if only we pay attention.

As I walk the days and years toward the end of my earthly life, I find myself overwhelmed by the beauty that surrounds me. So many things bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart, no matter how many times they come my way – the laughter of children playing, the tantalizing aroma of cinnamon, the softness of a kitten’s fur, the harmonies of music well-played, the sound of wind through the pines, the calming beauty of a summer sunset.

Our earth itself offers amazing gifts. My spirit soars with the pelicans floating overhead gracefully as if carried by gentle ocean waves. Their wings flash sparks as they reflect the winter sun. I laugh to watch the winter goldfinches, not yet dressed in their summer vests of dazzling yellow, patiently waiting turns to sip water from the knot of a sweet gum while just yards away, a flock of cedar waxwings in their black burglar masks noisily feasts on the fruits of a hackberry.

A regal red-tailed hawk, whom I have named Tullia through long acquaintance, gave me a lesson in patience and perseverance one morning. Hunting for breakfast in a field along River Road, Tullia flew low over the winter grasses, searching. As I watched, my back grew tired with the waiting as Tullia seemed to meticulously and methodically examine each inch of the field, sometimes hovering in one place like a helicopter, sometimes dropping down to the earth suddenly only to rise again with nothing but dirt and tufts of brown grass in her talons. She stayed at her task for forty minutes without rest until successfully snatching a field mouse and returning to her oak perch to eat and rest at last. Such beauty, such determination, such patience!

January arrived this year without the sound of the spring peepers, tiny frogs who appear soon after Christmas as early heralds of approaching springtime. Their call is a series of fairly robust clicks and clacks on a rising tone, totally distinct from the calls of warm weather species. Hearing their enthusiastic song always brings to me not only joy but also a sense of hope for the future. At their absence this year I fell into worry and despair, wondering if we had finally poisoned our air and water to the point of non-survivability for these tiny creatures. Some weeks later, however, I heard their call in a nearby park. As the frogs sang their joy to the world, my spirit soared with hope renewed.

God’s creation is filled with endless beauty and deep mystery. We are called to be attentive and to be astonished. Through our observations and experiences we are invited to feel the presence of the Creator. In the words of C.S. Lewis, “we may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with him. He walks everywhere incognito.” (1) Through the great blue whale, the tiniest insect and every human being that walks the earth, God reveals his majesty and his love. When we are attentive, we become filled with awe and gratitude. When the awe and gratitude bubble up in us, the only response is worship.

Poet Mary Oliver so exquisitely reminds us:

Sometimes I need
only to stand
wherever I am
                    to be blessed. (2) 

As I continue my walk, I live in constant gratitude for the gifts of life our God so generously gives. My prayers for peace and wholeness for the world are often intermingled with simple thanks for the song of spring peepers, Tullia in her meadow, the baby box turtle sleeping in the mulch under my window, and the young possum who has found shelter from the icy blast in my compost bin. All miracles, all amazing, all blessings.

Betty Schroeder

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(1) Letters to Malcom: Chiefly on Prayer; San Diego: Harvest, 1904, p. 75.
(2) Evidence: Poems; Boston: Beacon Press, 2009, p.21.

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV

I was blessed. Thank you, Lord.

Tuesday was Election Day, and I was glad to volunteer at the church to greet people voting at our Family Life Center. Other than that momentous event, it was a normal day and at around 3:00 pm I left to pick up Emma from school at Basis. She gets out at 3:30. I was driving down Highland Road, as usual, as I turn at Pecue Lane and head toward the Woman’s Hospital Campus. Near the Highland Road Park I top a rise and see a car heading toward me in my lane.  The next moment there is a head-on collision and my car lands in a ditch.  A red corvette that was in the other lane had rear-ended a car that had appropriately stopped due to traffic in front of it.  The corvette entered into my lane and hit me head on. 

I was blessed. Why? Well here are all the blessings I have counted so far:

1. I survived with only bruises. My seat belt and air bags protected me. I didn’t need to go to the emergency room. It just so happened that I had my annual check up with my regular doctor scheduled for the next morning. He was able to check me over and confirm there were no problems. 
2. Emma was still at school and not in the car with me to be injured or traumatized.
3. My car ended up in the ditch and was not hit by another car behind me nor did it land in a deep/steep ditch like so many on Highland Road where my car might have rolled over.
4. All parties were able to walk away. I don’t know about injuries with the driver of the corvette, but he was able to walk out. The driver who was rear-ended sat up on the hill next to the Highland Road Observatory sign with me while the Sheriff and EMS checked us out.
5. Don was at home, inside when I called him and came immediately to help me. He was not outside doing chores where he wouldn’t hear the phone.
6. Emma’s school was able to divert her from car-pool to the after-school program where she did homework until Don and I were able to pick her up.  Meanwhile, she didn’t know I had been in a wreck. 
7. Our small dog was in the backseat of my car.  She loves to pick up Emma from school. She had a small limp at first and a scratch on her face but is fine. 
8. The car that caused the wreck was not a massive truck or vehicle that would have caused a lot more damage to both cars and people that were in them. 

Thank you God, for helping us see the blessings even in things like car accidents. Help us to remember that you are here to support us and give us courage when bad things happen. We can turn to you. Amen.

Carol Gordon

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3: 16 – 18 (NIV)

So all of you should live together in peace. Try to understand each other. Love each other like brothers and sisters. Be kind and humble. 1 Peter 3: 8 (ERV)

*****

During worship on Sunday October 18, Natalie Cooper shared about the joy she feels from her service in St. John’s children’s ministry program.

It’s not just about the children’s relationships with our Triune God, not just about the children’s relationships with their teachers or pastors or the church. It’s also about the children’s relationships with one another.

Our family’s story offers a witness to these faith-centered, interpersonal relationships.

It started with Kellen in the late 1990s and then Maddie in the early 2000s, years before I entered our St. John’s sanctuary as a guest seeking refuge in 2006. Ms. Lynn would pick up her eldest grandchildren every Sunday morning and take them with her to church, which was such a blessing because I always wanted that for my children but was in a place in my life where I was not engaged with any church and believed myself unable to aid in facilitating that foundational block.

As they grew up, my now big kids went to Sunday school. When they were old enough they went to youth. Maddie, in particular, developed relationships there with a depth far surpassed other friendly relationships in her life. Now a 21-year-old young woman, Maddie still fondly recalls and continues to delight in the sweet affinity she has for her St. John’s friends; these timeless, Christ-centered friendships overflow with depths of loving-kindness and understanding.

These are profound, meaningful relationships rooted in the foundation of our faith, threaded together by our Lord. There’s just no comparison to interpersonal relationships of this depth of truth and love, and a history in community together that reinforces it. I am so thankful that St. John’s children’s ministry provided space for these truest, forever friendships in Christ to take root and grow.

Now, as a young adult, Maddie continues in those relationships with cords that cannot be broken, and I am thankful. The experience of children’s ministry at St. John’s and the deep, personal relationships spun out of it prompted Maddie to be at youth one Sunday recently as a volunteer, younger sister Izzy in tow, as Maddie and I both see the goodness of this gift of relationship on the deepest level and want Izzy to experience and know that blessed gift as well.

It brings me joy to know that as my now adult daughter goes out into the world she continues to have these meaningful relationships founded in faith, and always has a home in her heart to which she can return should she need comfort or encouragement or otherwise, regardless of her life circumstances.

My fervent prayer is that when my children and the children of St. John’s are grown, and recall the God of their childhood, the God of their youth, that they will recall Emmanuel – God with us – right smack in the center of these loving ties among siblings in Christ. I pray that those Christ-centered friendships established and nurtured in Sunday school and youth are forever rooted in the children’s depths.

I long for these Christ-centered friendships for my children and all the children of St. John’s, as much as I long for them to know and love God. St. John’s children’s ministry met the need in our family – the longing that I had – and filled a void, providing a space for unity in Christ among friends that cannot be replicated.

Loving God, thank you for Emmanuel – God with us – the centering force of love and truth in our lives and in our relationships. Help us to nurture one another in faith, wisdom and encouragement as brothers and sisters in Christ. Help us to be more like you and to actively demonstrate our love for you in the ways we love one another. In Jesus’ name … Amen.

Natalie Cooper