The Joy of Shared Faith

This past week was blessed for me, and I was reminded of God’s goodness again in many ways.  As James 1:17 tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation of shadow due to change.”  How thankful we can be that God can be counted on regardless of what changes happen around us.

I began the week with two meaningful encounters with brothers and sisters from our current church.  At our weekly small group meeting, we had the privilege to pray in a focused way for two members of the group about different issues they were facing.  We could feel God’s presence as we joined together to ask for his guidance and strength.  A couple days later, I met with my weekly study cohort to learn more about who God is and discuss what that means in our lives.  Our discussions over God's Word are always interesting and rich.

On Thursday, I had lunch with a friend from our most recent (previous) church, and we shared stories from each of our trips to Israel as she showed me pictures from her Fall journey.  She is old enough to be my mother, but we share a common love for truth that binds us together. 

On Saturday, my husband and I had the privilege of visiting with many friends from another previous church as we all gathered to honor the memory of a dear friend and celebrate her homegoing to heaven.  We have history that goes back 30-40 years or more with most of the people we talked to at the service.  Although life and distance have separated us, we still have a bond because of our shared history and our shared faith. 

As we drove to and from our current home, we were treated to God’s gift of spectacular views of surrounding mountains covered in snow as well as the beauty of water and trees that makes up our Pacific Northwest.  I commented to my husband how gracious God was to create such a beautiful world for us when he knew before he created it that humans would not be good stewards and that he would eventually need to create a new earth to last for eternity.  (Can you even imagine how wonderful that earth will be?!)

Today marks one year since other dear friends helped to move us from one city to another and we started our new life in a new place.  I will always remember and be grateful for their giving spirits and the joy of sharing life with these people.  Wherever we have lived and worshipped, God has indeed been good.

Most of my weeks are not as full as this past one – and they don’t usually include people from three different churches and memories from 40+ years!  But today I am thankful for all of the special brothers and sisters in Christ that I have shared life with so far; and I am reminded of what Psalm 133:1 says: “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”  God indeed is good . . . all the time.