Who are the people in YOUR neighborhood?
The sermon Sunday was about new beginnings. I think we all think of them as the new year approaches, and I, among the folks that were present last Sunday am looking forward to a 2019 devoid of any appreciable trouble.
2019 though is off to a shaky start for the congregation at little Ogden First Baptist Church. The new year yesterday brought tragedy literally, right to our collective doorstep. A woman was found frozen five feet from the most used door to the church.
As I write this, I have no idea who this woman was. All the police said to the newspaper was that she was in her 40s, and that they didn't expect foul play to be a factor in her death, but still, no matter who she was, she was one of God's own, and sadly, we don't know why or what brought her to that particular spot, but it's kinda been in the back of my mind a lot today.
It was cold out today, and I spent a fair part of my day being cold. Our hangar was a balmy 58 degrees today. With the wind this morning, it was a lot colder than that and I came home and jacked the thermostat up a couple of degrees and took a hot bath to get my feet thawed out. I have stuff to protect me from the cold, and a place to be out of the cold and wind. Even when that place is not comfortable, it's still not 10 degrees constantly.
I can't imagine trying to get out of that wind and cold from Monday night, and sadly, someone's 2019 ended abruptly in it. That hurts my heart.
I know the neighborhood. I spend time in it once a week in the summer for two hours. I see stuff. I've seen a girl get roughed up by the boyfriend she was nagging who finally had enough. I was on my way to help her out when I saw her shake her head no at me with terror in her eyes. The guy grabbed her by the neck, spoke some harsh words to her, and then let her go. When he had her by the throat, that's when yours truly was gonna move up, but got shook off. That always bothered me.
I've seen people attempting to buy drugs from other people in the middle of the street while I was mowing the lawn. I've found a crack pipe almost every year on the grounds. I've seen remnants of people sleeping on the lawn in the summer; plugging their cell phones in to an outlet in the parking lot; working girls working. I've seen drunk people. I've seen hungry people. I've seen homeless people. Those are people in the neighborhood.
Those neighbors that God tells us we should love.
I don't believe things happen by accident and I'm hoping that we can come to know this woman's story in the coming days. Maybe we can understand what happened to her. Maybe we can find out who she is; sometimes we get homeless people joining us on Sunday mornings. Was she one of them? Right now, there aren't a bunch of answers to those questions.
But I do wonder at why God allowed this to happen at this place at this time? I'm still of the belief that nothing happens without reason, and God can use tragedy to get a group of people to act or change. I can't help but wonder what effect this woman's death will have on our congregation, if any, as answers to our questions slowly trickle forth.
In the mean time, I'm praying for this woman's family and friends. And that they can get the answers they most desperately need in their hour of grief.
2019 though is off to a shaky start for the congregation at little Ogden First Baptist Church. The new year yesterday brought tragedy literally, right to our collective doorstep. A woman was found frozen five feet from the most used door to the church.
As I write this, I have no idea who this woman was. All the police said to the newspaper was that she was in her 40s, and that they didn't expect foul play to be a factor in her death, but still, no matter who she was, she was one of God's own, and sadly, we don't know why or what brought her to that particular spot, but it's kinda been in the back of my mind a lot today.
It was cold out today, and I spent a fair part of my day being cold. Our hangar was a balmy 58 degrees today. With the wind this morning, it was a lot colder than that and I came home and jacked the thermostat up a couple of degrees and took a hot bath to get my feet thawed out. I have stuff to protect me from the cold, and a place to be out of the cold and wind. Even when that place is not comfortable, it's still not 10 degrees constantly.
I can't imagine trying to get out of that wind and cold from Monday night, and sadly, someone's 2019 ended abruptly in it. That hurts my heart.
I know the neighborhood. I spend time in it once a week in the summer for two hours. I see stuff. I've seen a girl get roughed up by the boyfriend she was nagging who finally had enough. I was on my way to help her out when I saw her shake her head no at me with terror in her eyes. The guy grabbed her by the neck, spoke some harsh words to her, and then let her go. When he had her by the throat, that's when yours truly was gonna move up, but got shook off. That always bothered me.
I've seen people attempting to buy drugs from other people in the middle of the street while I was mowing the lawn. I've found a crack pipe almost every year on the grounds. I've seen remnants of people sleeping on the lawn in the summer; plugging their cell phones in to an outlet in the parking lot; working girls working. I've seen drunk people. I've seen hungry people. I've seen homeless people. Those are people in the neighborhood.
Those neighbors that God tells us we should love.
I don't believe things happen by accident and I'm hoping that we can come to know this woman's story in the coming days. Maybe we can understand what happened to her. Maybe we can find out who she is; sometimes we get homeless people joining us on Sunday mornings. Was she one of them? Right now, there aren't a bunch of answers to those questions.
But I do wonder at why God allowed this to happen at this place at this time? I'm still of the belief that nothing happens without reason, and God can use tragedy to get a group of people to act or change. I can't help but wonder what effect this woman's death will have on our congregation, if any, as answers to our questions slowly trickle forth.
In the mean time, I'm praying for this woman's family and friends. And that they can get the answers they most desperately need in their hour of grief.
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