February 23, 2008

Why Not Me, God?

Read Hebrews 10:19-25

When Bill asked me to present at the morning service as part of the Gift of Faith, I thought to myself, “Why Me God”…I don’t have a story.

Then I reconsidered and said to myself, “Why Not Me God” …I do have a story to tell about my faith, as all of you do.

I come from a long line of Methodists -- great grandparents, grandparents and parents. I have been a Methodist all my life…even though there was an 8-year period where I hardly ever attended Church. I realized after that absence from church, that part of believing in God is not only the way you live your life, but by attending Church and giving of yourself and your talents to fulfill God’s wishes to carry on his word and work. We have all sinned in one way or another, but God will always forgive us and take us under his guidance.

Recently I saw a sign outside a local Church that said, “Build a good foundation, so that you can endure the storms of life.” And I truly believe that.

Many of you remember a little over 6 years ago when our then 34-year-old daughter had given birth to her second son. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong and our daughter, Jami, passed away within five hours of giving birth. Our grandson, Cameron was born perfectly healthy. Someone said to me after it happened, “When God closes a door, he opens a window.” I firmly believe that if it had not been for my basic belief in God and strong faith, I never would have survived this tragedy. This was the worst storm of our life and we got through it. Our family, friends and Church made it possible for us to go on. The people of this Church are compassionate and still inquire about our daughter’s family…who by the way is doing very well.

All of us have had tragedy in our lives…some more than others. Often this makes us a stronger, more understanding person. I say all this, but without the guidance and help from God, I do not believe it is possible to mend mentally or physically. A child should never pass on before a parent!!

Because I firmly believe that we should all give of our resources, talents and skills to this Church, I would like to share a poem (author unknown) published in the UMW newsletter about a year ago. I have referred to this many times.

Karen Leigh

IT DOESN’T MATTER

It doesn’t matter
How much you have
But How Much You’ve
Shared
With Others

It doesn’t matter
What kind of house you have
But Whether Your
Love
Has made It A Home


It doesn’t matter
How many friends
You can count,
But How Many
Friends
You Can Count on

It doesn’t matter
How well you do in life,
But How Much
Good
You do.

It doesn’t matter
How much love you
Have gathered,
But How Much You’ve
Given
Away.

(Author Unknown)