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My newest daughter-in-law gave me a beautiful piece of African fabric as a gift. Now that she’s expecting, I learned that the tradition is that you make a piece of clothing for yourself plus something for the baby. What a beautiful tradition. The only thing is that I’ve only sewed one garment – ever! My sisters excelled in sewing class but by the time I had the same teacher, it was only a six-week class, and I made “the worst backpack I’ve ever seen!”. That backpack wound up in the trash at some point. My Aunt Lynne (actually my ex-husband’s aunt, but I kept her in the divorce), was a wonderful seamstress. She and I used to watch figure skating together during our visits. One time I remember specifically that she sat down and was tearing out a seam in whatever it was she was making. I asked her what she was doing. She very simply explained that it didn’t turn out the way that she wanted it to, so she was tearing it out to make it better. What a concept. I thought about this as I was sitting down and tearing out a stitch for the umpteenth time in my attempt at making a skirt out of the beautiful African fabric. It occurs to me that this is what the season of Lent is all about.
The prophet Joel says, “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity” (New International Version; Joel 2:13). As a part of the mourning process in Judaic tradition, a person tore their clothes and poured ashes on their head as a public expression of distress. People mourn for various reasons: the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, any type of loss. It is ok to express your distress, however, Joel tells us to make the change within our hearts, our spirits without making a big show of things. Lent is not about giving up, but it is about change. How can you make one small change for the Lord this season? Most people take away something like chocolatey sweets, or things that are bad for us. Actually, if we feel that our faith journey is lacking prayer, we can make a change for 40 days and nights (excluding Sundays) to spend a minute thanking God for our day – good or bad. We can make one small change that will draw us closer to God. Yes, our nation is in a climate of change. Some people feel that the very fabric of our government is being ripped to shreds. However, what if this is just tearing out a seam to remake it better and stronger than it was before? I firmly believe that whatever happens there will be a gap for our churches to step into. Will you be prepared to see the gaps, to bring revival to the Christian life in Mears? Try making a change with me for these 40 days and nights and let’s see what God can build anew within us together.
Blessings,
Pastor Bev Williams, Do No Harm, Do Good, Stay in love with God
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