He hugged every woman in the room.
He's in the first grade, and most folks around here think of him as a pretty
thoughtful guy for his age - but still, he'd never met any of those senior citizens
before that morning, and it's not a lot of boys who will hug anyone
in public. He was part of the Sunday School class who'd come to sing during
worship at MacIntosh Manor, a senior apartment complex on the north side. After
Bryan invited the kids to open the service with their songs, he said simply,
"We're going to let the kids go home now - they've been in church since
9:00 am, and that makes for a long day! But maybe before they go, they could
give each of our ladies a hug." And so they did,all the boys and all the
girls, one-by-one, as natural as if it were an every day thing, hugged every
woman there.
Now a hug may not seem like much to you, but to the women at MacIntosh Manor
a hug is a precious thing indeed. Most of these women are widows and all of
them live alone, rarely even leaving the complex, so a human touch and especially
the touch of a child feeds a soul's deepest hunger. To share a moment of your
heart with one who so thirsts to feel the heartbeat of another is an answer
to prayer, and not just at MacIntosh Manor.
But don't let the wonder of this moment deceive you into thinking it came easily.
One of us has spent almost a year developing that offsite worship service; our
volunteer coordinator networked to gather interest and gather kids, and five
parents and a dozen young singers took the time on the Sabbath to share their
songs and hugs. Sharing is never without cost - but isn't that what a church
is for, to teach us how to share? Do not those children look just a little more
like Jesus because they shared? Is that not why God shared his son with us -
so we might grow to resemble his son? Is that not why Christ shared his life
with us - to teach us how to share our lives with each other?
That's how you invest in any relationship. If you share your stuff with your
brothers and sisters, they treat you like family. If you share your heart with
your lover, your love grows. If you share your time with your kids, they learn
to share with each other. Share yourself with God the Sundays of Easter, my
friends - and don't be surprised when you feel the hug God shares with you.
Pastor Jim
He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully... God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. 2 Corinthians 12:6, 8
From the Shepherd's Song Newsletter -- May 2007
Copyright 2006 by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
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E-mail your comments and questions to Pastor Jim in care of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at gslc@sirus.com.