This is an intensely personal devotional thought I’m sharing with you through our website. My dear, sweet wife, Cathie, died recently after a twenty month battle with cancer. There have been many lessons from this time, and our faith in God and His goodness is as strong as ever. But this morning, I want to share with you about last weekend.
Last weekend, Labor Day Weekend 2003, we held three memorial services for Cathie. She and I had moved to Arizona to be a part of Team RFC in the fall of 2000, so on Saturday night we had a service in our local church with all the friends we’ve made here in the past three years. Sunday afternoon, we held a service in Southern California, in the church we left in 2000, and in the area where we had served in camp and conference center ministry for 29 years. And, on Monday afternoon, up north in Central California, we held a service in Cathie’s home church where, thirty-two years earlier, we had stood as bride and groom.
Two observations about Christian community became clear that weekend.
People that she or I had known through years of church involvement or parachurch ministry work attended and the bonds forged through those years remained—regardless of our keeping in touch or not. What strength, energy, and comfort I was able to draw on from those brothers and sisters in the Lord.
There were five of us that, as a team, traveled to conduct the three services. No one knew everybody when we started. Something took place that was completely unanticipated. A community formed among us as God pulled five people together for a specific task at a specific time in history. We’re from different states and living lives where our paths will not cross again in this combination. Yet God allowed us to experience something palpable that we didn’t want to end as we separated at the Fresno airport on Tuesday morning.
Friends, the Christian life is not meant to be lived as the Lone Ranger. I can’t imagine going through what I am without the love, support, and occasional rear end kicking I’m getting from fellow Christians. Are you living without involvement in a church or other Christian group? Don’t! Are there problems with every church or Christian group? Sure…they’re filled with people. But even with all their imperfections, God works through His community of believers. Stay engaged in one.
