I Believe in Love:

Daring Right Relationships

"Brothers and sisters, we were separated from you for a while physically but not in our hearts. We made every effort in our desire to see you again face-to-face." 1 Thessalonians 2:17

The Pandemic has been difficult and most of us are suffering from what is called Quarantine Fatigue. We can succumb to this exhaustion or this time can be an occasion when we heed God’s call to be a blessing to others and directs us to find ways to help reduce the impact of this separation.

There are many noticeable needs in our community. Two needs not often thought about is loneliness and isolation which prior to COVID were already serious problems in our area. Social distancing, so critical now, is making this worse. As Christians, we need to reach out to let our neighbors know that they are not alone.

A phone call can be very encouraging to those who are isolated. Consider returning to writing letters and placing them in your neighbor’s door or even reaching out to that friend you have not talked to for a long time. Consider organizing a friends’ or family reunion on Zoom. Dropping off extra supplies to an elderly neighbor can be done safely. Even in times of social distancing, we can safely reach out in mercy and love. God is calling His people to be a blessing and, most importantly, to provide hope to those who are anxious and afraid.

There will continue to be many hassles, trials, and frustrations in times like these. May this prayer help:

Prayer: God help me to see these times as an avenue of being in service to others. Keep my eyes and heart open to the many possibilities of actions I can do. For God, You are at work within me. Amen

"God is our refuge and strength, a help always near in times of great trouble." Psalm 46:1

-Lori Thom

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Those of you who know me know that I like numbers better than words.

So writing a devotional was not easy for me. However I do believe that

God is at work in my life.

My first inspiration was from a small card that I have on my refrigerator.

Marilyn Fink gave it to me several years ago. It has a quote from Henry

Ford: "With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best

in the end. So what is there to worry about?" Doesn’t that remind you of

Marilyn and her positive attitude and belief in God? Thank you Marilyn.

In times like 2020, it really helps to have the support and encouragement

of friends. They share their faith with you and lift up your spirit to see

God more clearly. I am blessed to have support from tennis friends,

church friends, neighbors and family. Here are a few verses that have

been given to me recently.

"God has said ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’" Hebrews 13:5

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm

46:1

"The lord is my strength." Psalm 28:7

"Give your burdens to the Lord and He will carry them." Psalms 55:22

I believe, even when our surroundings seem dark and gloomy, that we

will make it through with help from God and our friends.

I pray that we will remember

that we are not in charge but

are significant to God. His

love and power will sustain us

and we will believe...even

when.

-Kathy Litton

Monday, December 7, 2020

I believe in Love…

On my trip to South Africa, we took the ferry to Robben Island. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there for 18 of the 27 years he served behind bars before the fall of apartheid. I took a picture of his cell where he lived for those 18 years. It was very small and you can see the rolled up blankets he used for a pillow with a straw mat on the floor for his bed. He also had a small table and stool to sit on. He was a political prisoner and when he was finally released, Mandela had decided to love the people who imprisoned him, instead of hating them. He was instrumental in ending apartheid in South Africa and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

This small cell reminds me of how we can imprison ourselves with our own hearts, causing us to live trapped in a cycle of imprisonment for many years. Jesus was asked which commandment is the most important one and He replied in Mark 12:29-31, "The most important one,"

answered Jesus, "is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these."

When I look at Nelson Mandela and see how he was imprisoned for 27 years and came out with God’s love in his heart, how can I not love my neighbors? God’s love is for everyone and how can I pick and choose which person I will love?

I pray that I will love with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I cannot change THE world, but I can change MY world – with God’s love.

-Gayle Grace

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

I and many other members of St. Paul’s have known Dima Balashov for many years. We first met when Rocky Mountain Russia Initiative sponsored his church in Arkangelsk. Some of our members visited him in Russia and he came to Colorado to visit us. Eventually his church closed but by then we were truly friends. So, some of us formed a “Friends of Dima” group to continue supporting him both financially and, more importantly, spiritually. He has been an inspiration to all of us. His emails are always positive even with the challenges he faces in Russia. We greatly admire him. When we started Facebook and Zoom services, he joined us on Facebook. He has written the following devotional for us. -Kathy Litton

***

"God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…" 1 John 4:18

Many people have experienced fear and anxiety this year. I'm not an exception. I lost my job before the onset of the pandemic, worried about the health of my elderly parents, worried about events in the post-Soviet space, and was alone. The only one who was always by my side is God. During this period, I realized the following.

In modern Russia, one of the obsessive fears is the end of energy in a smartphone battery when you are in a place where there is no way to recharge this battery. If the smartphone stops working, then the person will feel cut off from the world, helpless, lonely, inaccessible. Many people buy additional external batteries and dream of inventing an eternal source of energy for modern gadgets.

But I have such an eternal source of energy - this is God. I am constantly connected to it. He is like a loving parent inside me. A loving parent does not shame, does not scold, does not drive, does not leave, does not say: I will not love you if you do not do what I want. A loving parent loves unconditionally, everything as a whole, and not in parts. (Your face is beautiful, but your belly is terrible.) A loving parent always supports, even if I'm wrong and made a mistake. (Yes, you made a mistake, but because of this I will not love less. Let's think about what we can do about it.) A loving parent cares wisely, gives me an understanding of what I can change and what I must take for granted. A loving parent teaches you to trust him and be yourself.

I have already forgotten when I shouted in His face: Why is this happening to me? Why are you punishing me?! When an unfavorable external situation is around, I ask Him: What can be done? He answers me with support, strength, love, tranquility and wisdom, and sometimes miracles. Miracles come through other people like you, sometimes; and I am a link in a chain of miracles for others. An inexhaustible free source of energy in me gives confidence that displaces fear, makes it possible to act selflessly, without expecting anything in return, makes it possible to learn unconditional love. Prayer: Dear Lord, I do not want to know why so many bad things are happening in the world. I ask You for the wisdom to know what I can do for this world. I thank You for the eternal source of energy and the unconditional acceptance of me in Your love. I thank You for the miracles of love that unite people from all over the world. Bless us all and may many this Christmas find Your eternal source of energy. Amen.

-Dima

Dima’s prayer in Russian:

Дорогой Господь, я не хочу знать почему и зачем происходит столько плохого в мире, я прошу у тебя мудрости знать, что я могу сделать для этого мира. Я благодарю за вечный источник энергии и безусловное принятие меня в твоей любви. Я благодарю тебя за чудеса любви, которые объединяют людей со всех концов мира. Благослови всех нас и пусть в это Рождество многие обретут твой вечный источник энергии. Аминь.

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Searching for paths in the thickets of night – ways threading up to the promise of light:

longing for Dayspring’s dawn…1

Pat Bennet begins her lovely Advent carol, Advent Longing, with these haunting words. Three simple lines of rhyme and meter is all it takes to transport me to a place of longing. A place where the darkness threatens to overwhelm the light of day, and all I can do is grope around to find the path that will lead me back toward the promise of light, and God’s presence.

Olga came down the sand berm and walked right up to me. She smiled, and with hand gestures and her eyes, I knew that she was inviting me to walk down the beach with her. I was flattered, but nervous. We had spent the week working at the little church where Olga’s husband was pastor and pouring the foundation for their modest parsonage. Olga and I had spoken some, but always with the aid of an interpreter. She spoke no English. I spoke little Spanish, other than the unsurprising words such as "si", "taco" and "uno, dos, tres...". Nevertheless, I nodded and we walked off down the beach, just the two of us and her two young children. Two and a half hours later we returned, having talked non-stop the whole way. The time melted away as we chatted and laughed and learned about each other’s lives. Though our tongues did not speak each other’s national language, our hearts spoke the same language. There simply was no awkward communication barrier. I felt that God was with us in a very special way, and that the sand beneath our feet was holy ground.

There are many times that I’ve felt anxious about my circumstances. Disoriented. Lost. Out of my own spiritual rhythms. Disconnected from God. But then I read the words that Matthew wrote. "Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will call him, Emmanuel. (Emmanuel means ’God with us.’)" (Matthew 1:23)

In our Christmas story, it is that image of Jesus’ birth, God with us intimately and tangibly, that gives me the most hope and offers a peace that life sometimes withholds. Simple memories, like the one of my time spent with Olga on the beach, tell me that the paths "threading up to the promise of light" are not as hard to find as they may sometime seem. They are found in the attentiveness of a new friend (despite any language barriers), in the shared experiences with old friends, the passing of wonderful years with my husband, the quietness of a mountain trail while hiking with my sons. Simple, yet profoundly spiritual moments that whisper "God is right here, with you every moment. Be at peace."

Prayer: Emmanuel, God with ME…show me Your nearness. Open my eyes to You.

-Pastor Leslie

Pat Bennett and John L Bell, “Waiting for Emmanuel”. (Glasgow: Wild Goose Publications, 2013)

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Right now, most days are more about surviving than living. Days blur into weeks that in turn blur into months. We are surviving the day while trying to understand how to cope with new regulations. We stare out our windows and miss what we once were able to do. "And in despair I bowed my head."

The song I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This is a favorite carol of mine. I remember baking cookies with Mom while listening to an Ed Ames record. The music and smells return to me every time I think about it.

Friday, December 11, 2020

When he sings the second verse, "There is no peace on earth I said.," I always feel a lump in my throat. All of the negative emotions seem to swell within me.

"Then, peel the bells more loud and deep, God is not dead not doth He sleep!" The crescendo of the music crashes through me and the feelings are ripped away leaving the cherished memories of happiness and warmth.

We have to hold onto what we cherish but with open fingers so more memories and love can filter into us. Let us cherish the memories we have and the ones yet to come.

-Rachel Ford

Saturday, December 12, 2020

A few years ago, a friend and I took a mutual friend on a nostalgic daytrip. Our friend was battling cancer and wanted to revisit the place where she had lived about forty years ago.

Through much walking around and knocking on doors, she found the house she had lived in (maybe), the friend she had taught school with, and the lady who had babysat her son (and the babysitter's son who just happened to be visiting that day). She bought small gifts for her son and grandson and went home the happiest person! As for my friend and I, we felt God's hand at work that entire day, and it remains one of our most precious memories.

Our friend passed away about four months after our trip. All I can think of regarding that day is the 24th verse of the 118th Psalm: "This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

-Nancy Aksland

St. Paul's United Methodist Church

2111 Carlton Avenue

Colorado Springs, CO 80909

Grounded in Tradition, Growing in Faith

Phone: 719-634-7046

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