Greetings Friends,
I wonder, as the people of Living Hope Church, what it might look like to move from a posture of "for" to a posture of "with."
What if being with one another became just as important as what we do for one another?
When I think about the friends who carried the paralytic, I don't just see a group of people accomplishing a task. I imagine friends who have been there all along. Friends who had sat through hard days and had difficult conversations. Friends who knew what it was like to walk beside someone who couldn't fix his own situation.
Yes, they carried him to Jesus. Yes, they climbed onto a roof and dug a hole. But before they did any of that, they were simply with him.
Maybe that's why Diane's words have stayed with me these past few weeks: "Pastor Nate prayed not just for us, but with us."
There is something powerful about living life together with one another. Praying with each other. Sitting with each other in grief. Celebrating together. Listening without trying to fix everything. Just being present.
I wonder if that's part of what Jesus is inviting us into as a church. Not simply doing more things for people but learning how to be with people. Because often it is in that shared presence that we become more aware of God's presence among us.
Thank you again for your kindness, generosity, prayers, cards, and encouragement. More than the gifts themselves, I am grateful for the relationships they represent. I am thankful to serve alongside a church family that continually reminds me what it means to be with one another in Christ.
Pastor Nate