Connections: The Gift of Belonging

When my youngest son, Jacob, was about 5 years old, he started asking about death and dying. He asked the usual questions that one would expect, but the questions keep
coming.  I knew there was some underlying concern, but I didn’t know what it was.  Then one night, Jacob asked who would take care of him if Serhat and I both died.  That’s not an easy question to answer, but I thought to myself, Let’s start with God.  So, I told Jacob that if that were to happen God would take care of him.  Jacob burst into tears and cried out, “God can’t drive, and Sam isn’t old enough to drive!  Who’s going to drive me to school?” I proceeded to calm Jacob down and explain which relatives were named as guardians in our will.  Jacob liked that answer a lot better.  He just needed to know that someone would drive him to school.

At first glance, it’s easy to think Jacob was just too young to understand how God takes care of us.  Or maybe, it was my too simple of an answer.  Jacob was correct; God does not drive.  However, as followers of Jesus Christ, we do.  The Holy Spirit calls upon us to act in loving service, and we faithfully respond with our actions.  We take care of each other. That would have been a better explanation for Jacob to hear, but it’s even easier to see here at Laurel Heights.

Our community at Laurel Heights continues to faithfully respond by driving gift bags to members’ door steps, collecting diapers for mothers in crisis, delivering care packages to healthcare workers, and on and on. The “wordle” on the following page of this newsletter gives us a glimpse at some of these ways we are the extension of God’s love in the world. These faithful actions represent connections that we make within our faith community and out into the world.

I’m so grateful to belong to Laurel Heights and share these connections with all of you.  And as Jacob grows up, he’ll have so many memories from Laurel Heights of how God really does take care of us.

On Sunday, October 24, the Stewardship Committee invites you to a Jazz Brunch on Rowe Plaza from 9:30 to 10:30 am to celebrate our Connections: The Gift of Belonging.  A light breakfast—with freshly made beignets!—will be served or can be picked up to go.  The consecration of our pledges and estimates of giving will follow during the Worship Service at 11:00 am.  I hope you can join us.

Susie Guven, chair

LHUMC Stewardship Committee