This past Sunday we were greeted by a storm bearing icy rain followed by snow. Several churches in our area canceled their services. I received several calls asking if we were going to do the same. I decided that we would hold services for those who could make it. I told everyone who called to use their best judgment.
We were pleasantly surprised that thirty hearty souls did make it. The highway crews did an admirable job keeping the roads clear. People seemed to have the most problems with their own iced over cars and driveways.
Of course, all of us present glowed with pride at our obvious fortitude, righteousness, and faithfulness. I joked that the morning obviously separated the sheep from the goats and revealed those who were really going to heaven. I also allowed that those present could have been there because they knew themselves to be the sinners most in need of grace.
In the midst of our laughter, Leanna Shirley shared with us the comment of Ann Lambert (who is 90 years young), who had called Leanna that morning to ask her for a ride to church. The people who normally pick her up were unable to make it. Ann remarked, “I know that they are saying on the news that there should be no unnecessary travel, but for me this is necessary.”
What a wonderful comment! I’m sure that Ann’s words represent many of our sentiments. Worship is not an option for us. We could no more live our lives without it than we could without food or oxygen. Indeed, I am amazed that there are those who can go for weeks and even months without it. To live life that way seems stark and bare, not life at all.
I’ll see you in church next Sunday.
P.S. I in no way wish to cast aspersions upon those who were unable to make it to church last Sunday. I, myself, was feeling really cocky about getting around all day that day with little problem only to have my feet fly out from under me on my driveway that evening. I landed flat on my back. I wasn’t injured, but I did have the wind knocked out of me. It just goes to show the truth of the biblical statement: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)
©2003 C. David Hess
We were pleasantly surprised that thirty hearty souls did make it. The highway crews did an admirable job keeping the roads clear. People seemed to have the most problems with their own iced over cars and driveways.
Of course, all of us present glowed with pride at our obvious fortitude, righteousness, and faithfulness. I joked that the morning obviously separated the sheep from the goats and revealed those who were really going to heaven. I also allowed that those present could have been there because they knew themselves to be the sinners most in need of grace.
In the midst of our laughter, Leanna Shirley shared with us the comment of Ann Lambert (who is 90 years young), who had called Leanna that morning to ask her for a ride to church. The people who normally pick her up were unable to make it. Ann remarked, “I know that they are saying on the news that there should be no unnecessary travel, but for me this is necessary.”
What a wonderful comment! I’m sure that Ann’s words represent many of our sentiments. Worship is not an option for us. We could no more live our lives without it than we could without food or oxygen. Indeed, I am amazed that there are those who can go for weeks and even months without it. To live life that way seems stark and bare, not life at all.
I’ll see you in church next Sunday.
P.S. I in no way wish to cast aspersions upon those who were unable to make it to church last Sunday. I, myself, was feeling really cocky about getting around all day that day with little problem only to have my feet fly out from under me on my driveway that evening. I landed flat on my back. I wasn’t injured, but I did have the wind knocked out of me. It just goes to show the truth of the biblical statement: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)
©2003 C. David Hess
