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God's Presence |
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Location: Blogs Brad's BlogMid-Week Missive |
 | | Posted by: Brad Miller | 10/21/2009 4:25 PM | Greetings on this gorgeous day!
Just this week someone asked me how I know that God is present in the world. I was suddenly taken back to a place where a similar question was asked and answered about as eloquently as possible.
It was during my time as a visiting professor at the University of Missouri. Columbia, MO, the university’s hometown, sat dead center in the state of Missouri, half way between St. Louis and Kansas City. Three friends of mine and I spent a lot of weekends going to one of those cities or the other, since there wasn’t a lot to do in Columbia! We were very different people, the four of us. There was the dyed in the wool atheist; the disaffected fundamentalist still struggling with the faith of his parents; the struggling Catholic – faithful but questioning of the operation of the church; and me. We were from very different social milieu also. Me from the a big industrial city; one from New Zealand; one from the deep south and one from rural central Wisconsin. But over the course of about a year and our many trips to St. Louis and Kansas City for hockey games, plays, baseball games, steaks and ribs in K.C., great Italian food in St. Louis, we got to be friends who could get into some pretty deep conversations and be very honest with our feelings and beliefs. It was a wonderful situation where none of us felt like we had to live up to anyone else’s expectations. Nor did we sit in judgment of each other’s beliefs. We were different. We weren’t necessarily wrong or right. It was the kind of give and take that I so treasure and, unfortunately, is not always available.
One night in a little Italian restaurant in St. Louis, my Catholic friend was talking about losing both her parents to cancer at a young age. She was 10 when her mother died and 15 when her father died. 15 years after her father’s death, she said she still felt like calling him on the phone. My atheist friend asked, “But would a loving God really allow that to happen? How can you believe in such a God?” The question was not mocking or accusatory. It was simply a question, not a judgment. She just wanted to know. The friend who lost her parents thought about it and quietly said, “I know there is a God because when I needed him most, I felt his presence. I know there is a God, because without God, I would not have survived my parent’s death. I know there is a God because I somehow had the strength to go on when I was barely able to stand up. I know there is a God because I made it through those horrible times.”
After a moment of silence, our atheist friend reached across the table and gently placed her hand on top of our Catholic friend’s hand. “I’m glad your God was there for you,” she said softly. “And I’m glad you’re here with us.”
And in that simple action and heartfelt statement from the mouth of an avowed atheist, God’s presence was made known once again.
For a list of upcoming events and an updated prayer list, please go to www.brookhavenchristian.org
For your prayer list:
Margie Mitchell, as she seeks relief from pain.
Margie Kinney, as she visits her cardiologist for recent heart issues.
Turley Higgins, as he awaits word of when his heart surgery will be scheduled.
Upcoming Events
The pumpkin sale is going well, but we still need your help. Go to www.brookhavenchristian.org and click on the pumpkin to sign up. We need you!
Please bring any toiletry items for the More Hands for God Day to church by this Sunday, and be sure to sign up to join in on October 31. All those who signed up will be contacted early next week concerning where and when we will meet to carpool to the City of Refuge.
Remember: November 1st: a very important board meeting to discuss budgets and nominations AND November 8th: a congregational meeting to approve the budget and nominations.
I hope you can make it to worship this week as once again we celebrate the Lord’s Day together. The sermon wraps up our series on “Being the Church” with a sermon entitled “Extravagant Generosity”. The scripture lesson is First Timothy 6: 18-19. Have a great rest of the week!
Be peaceful,
Brad
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