News & Views: Feb 4

FEBRUARY MEMORY VERSE
2 Chronicles 7:14
"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray
and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."

FEBRUARY 7th WORSHIP
ONLINE - premieres 9:00 a.m. on Facebook
OUTDOORS - 10:00 a.m. on the church patio, with COMMUNION
Pastor Mark, preaching  -  Henry Serrato and Phyllis Enns, music
Colossians Series: "Put off the Old Life"
Read ahead: Colossians 3:5-11

When the same word pops up more than once in a day, you notice. Last night a friend used the word, "weary," to describe her feelings to me on the phone. It resonated with me. I asked Laurie to pray for me this morning because I was feeling "weary".  When I saw the same word in an article this morning it just jumped off the page at me. It seems there's a lot of weariness around! And now that I think about it, the word came up during the Dinuba Christian Ministerial Association meeting on Zoom yesterday. Weariness is definitely getting around.

Weariness is contagious, like yawning. The old adage "misery loves company" is mostly true. We may not feel like doing this when we're feeling weary, but we need to connect with people whose faith and energy will encourage us and spur us on to love and good deeds. And when we're the ones who encounter others who are weary, we need to be willing to do the same for them once we've first taken the time to listen with empathy to the burdens they're carrying.

But might I also say that weariness does not love company? It sometimes thrives in isolation, like the kind of separation we've been experiencing throughout this pandemic. The more we stay away from others the more weary we can become ourselves, carrying our burdens alone. We feel them grow in size to press us down further and hold us back from being with others. And then, when worse stuff comes our way, we're even less prepared to handle it well.

The article I read mentioned the word "stamina" as an antidote to weariness. Stamina can be increased over time, like runners who build stamina as they train for marathons or ultras. But a person's stamina has limits. I think back to my own experience of the pandemic and see how I at first dove into solving problems, making decisions, and increasing contacts. Then when the pandemic looked to be longer than a few months, I had to set a new pace for myself and others. By autumn I found I was often out of ideas and frustrated at the constant demand to make decisions. It took a bit of quiet reflection to grasp just how sad I had become. I was hurting over the loss of time spent with my family, particularly my two little grandchildren. And the intensity of the division in society and the way it was creeping into family and church relationships discouraged me further. Just how much stamina can one person build up when you don't know how much you're going to need, or for how long?!

One of the roots of the word "stamina" comes from weaving--like threads woven on a loom. Stamina is what happens when one strand is woven in with many other strands. You get where I'm going, don't you? It's one thing to build up personal stamina--reading and memorizing Scripture, being faithful in prayer, keeping a journal of thanksgiving in every circumstance, for instance. That's vital. But we must also let ourselves be woven together with others. I think that's what the Bible means just after it urges us to spur one another on to love and good deeds: "Don't give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:23-25). Like our February memory verses reminds us, this takes humility, possibly repentance, and always the grace of God.

Our online services are meant to encourage you, and I'm glad to hear that they're doing just that. But if you can come to the outdoor services, especially now that the sun is warming things again, you may find yourself woven with others in ways you've missed while apart. Come, as weary as you may be. Let's find our strength together, in the Lord.

Received Last Week (1/31/21): .............. $9,247.34
Received this year to date: ................ $211,681.85
Budget Goal: ........................................ $521,591.00
Budget to Date: ................................... $216,509.47
Needed Weekly to Meet Budget: ......... $9,997.07

*COVID-19 precautions: For on-campus activities and for your safety and others' please
maintain 6' of distance and wear a face covering when not seated as households apart from others. Indoor gatherings are not permitted at this time...BUT STAY TUNED!

Questions? Call 559-591-1176 or office@newlifedinuba.org