A place in the family

As I read Jordan and Kelly's posts, I thought of two women, ladies who imitate Jesus in very different ways: Mother Teresa and Barbara. Like Madonna, you don't have to use their last names and everyone knows who you're talking about (you may need to be a member of Faith to know Barbara...she's such a quiet and powerful presence). They have spent their lives shining their light, so that we might see their good works and give glory to the Father. I remember Princess Diana and Mother Teresa dying around the same time. The world experienced a huge void in both cases, but for very different reasons. You'll notice that I always refer to my "sisters and brothers" in Christ (in that order), because women (although they get STILL get paid significantly lower wages than men) have made a tremendous impact on the church, the world, and my life of faith...from my mother to my wife to my daughter (we had a very theological discussion about Zaccheus and Jonah tonight before bed...she's always praying and preaching to me about the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior...she marks me with the cross and recites the benediction--she calls it the blessing--over me every night).

When Paul is recounting what Jesus said to him on the road to Damascus, he says, "I'm sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven (to outsiders), and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me."

I have two experiences to share from today:
We had our 4th Welcome Coffee (there's another one tomorrow night at the Grasseys in Marshfield...let me know if you're coming), this time at Jack and Nina's. The minute we found out that Nina was from North Dakota, we fell in love with her. Not only did they open their home this afternoon, but they're going to be hosting one of our March through Lent small groups. No teens were present, but they let our kids have the run of the house (they do have 10 grandchildren). We felt welcome there. Not that Jack wasn't a good host, but I have this vision of years gone by of their boys coming home from school and Nina being that kind of mom that would have the whole neighborhood over for milk and cookies. The church is often described as the bride of Christ. God himself (herself?) was just lifted up in our Gospel yesterday as a hen gathering her chicks under her wings. Our church should always be that hospitable to those who find themselves in the presence of believers.

I'm going to let you know about another gal, who I care about deeply, and her granddaughter. I rarely have time to go on Facebook, but tonight I was drawn there. When I'm on, it's usually to send a quick message to one of my friends who doesn't check their e-mail. But tonight, I scanned down the sorted details of people's lives. I came across this post from 4 hours ago, "Please, we ask everybody who reads this to stop, drop, and pray for our precious little Natalie! She is very, very sick. Lungs full of fluid and the fever is not subsiding. We need a miracle now. Thank you." Lori LaBelle was a youth worker in Maple Grove when I was in seminary in St Paul. The Holy Spirit brought us together, but that's another story, which I'll share with you in person if you ask. I have done mission trips with Lori and her husband, Jeff, for the past decade. God's dream for them, TeenServe, has become a huge part of who I am as a Christian. I have family all over this country now, because I spend a week at a workcamp every summer. For more details about their granddaughter, Natalie, go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/natalielabelle. Please pray for her!