Goodness Weekly 10.3.22
"Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve."
— Earl Grollman
Message from a Friend:
As most of you know, Jess is on sabbatical for a few weeks. Several weeks ago as she was making preparations for her leave, she asked me to write a message for this week’s Goodness Weekly, a message about where I have seen God’s goodness. My first thought was Janet Ihfe – the embodiment of God’s goodness, grace and love – always smiling, always encouraging, always there if you need help, hugs or hope. My original message I was writing about Janet was in the present tense, and although all of her remarkable qualities will remain with us in the present tense, as of yesterday morning, our ability to be in her presence physically shifted to past tense. And to be honest, I am not able to fathom the concept of that shift – that we will say she “was” as we tell our collective stories of how important she is to us.
I have been reading a book written by the minister who wrote 90 Minutes in Heaven (his account of what he experienced during the 90 minutes he had died in a car accident in 1989 near Houston). This more recent book is about the people who met him at the gates of heaven. He says although there was a crowd of those he loved, the first ones to greet him were those who had helped him get there – a school teacher, his youth minister, his grandmother, etc., those who planted seeds of God’s goodness that blossomed in him years later. If indeed we are met first by those who led us to God, then Janet is going to be a VERY busy person as she greets all those who have been moved towards God through her faith, love and generosity. And I am expecting she will be among the first to meet me too. From the very first time our family walked through the doors of Sunset Ridge in 2007, Janet has been a source of constant encouragement. She was my first example of a woman teaching adult Bible classes, and quite frankly, doing it better than any man I had ever heard teach. She encouraged me to use my gift of teaching and always cheered me on to do more. Her gift of hospitality meant she made sure to extend an invitation to upcoming gatherings and events, and in a loving, sincere way let us know that we were missed if we couldn’t join up. And I stand in awe of her humble heart. Just before she became ill she was telling me how she wished she could be better about sharing the love of Jesus and she wanted to learn more about how to reach out to people because she didn’t think she was very good at it. Not very good at it?? It seemed to me she was a professional!
Sunset Ridge and Charis Collective were extremely important to Janet and she was so eager to be a part of making the vision for our future into reality. And so as we keep pushing on with the good work at Charis and Sunset Ridge, I, for one, will do it with Janet in the forefront of my mind, trying my best to emulate her positive, encouraging, hospitable and hopeful spirit.
The book People I Met at the Gates of Heaven reminds the reader that there is no concept of time in heaven, which is part of the reason there’s no sorrow. He says his welcome committee knew he was coming and they were so happy to see him, but also knew it wasn’t his time yet and just as joyfully said, “We’ll see you again soon!” (Which has been over 30 years ago already.) So although time will march on here on earth and our hearts will be missing you so much, we’ll see you again soon, Janet! Thank you for loving us all so deeply. We hold you close in our hearts... until we meet again.
— Kelly Alba
What’s Good:
This Sunday we hosted a group of 50 faith leaders from around the country for a formal learning workshop through the global organization Rooted Good. Our friends at the Impact Guild helped guide this workshop so these leaders can learn from the good work of Charis Collective and take that knowledge back to their churches/organizations and create more good work. Our pastoral leader, Jess Lowry, shared our story with them, gave a guided tour of our space & future park, and aided in answering the many questions they had.
We hope you will pray for these faith leaders and all the good to come!
Upcoming Events
Sunday, October 9th, 4:30pm Chapel Worship & Liturgy
Tuesday, October 4th, 9:00am Story Time on the lawn
Saturday, October 8th, 9:30am Family Morning
Wednesdays at 7:30pm Youth Group at The Stirmans
Morning:
God, I know that you are good
and I look around and struggle
to see the goodness
Give me radical sight to find that which is
good, beautiful and kind
Help me to be that in the world
Help my actions, thoughts, and words
to reflect your image
May I be kindness, goodness and love
In a world that so desperately needs it
Amen.
Evening:
I found some goodness today God
and so much heartache too
The world is hurting and my heart along with it
Give me the peace to rest tonight
Ready tomorrow to begin again
Working for good in the lives
of the people you created
In my unique place in the world
In the small ways I can
For your glory
In Jesus name,
Amen.
