What a way to start my ministry in Mariposa! The Detwiler fire is still burning and there are thousands of firefighters still here to make sure that it is contained and eliminated. The pictures of the devastation are horrific. It is like an alien landscape. I thank God for all those who thought less of their own lives and cared for others. I grieve for all who lost homes and possessions and irreplaceable heirlooms. Yes, things can be replaced, and some day they will know that, but today, they just know that their lives will never be the same. They have lost something that cannot be replaced – a sense of safety and invulnerability.
The questions that always come up in these situations go something like this: “What can we do in this situation?” and “Where is God?” The two are not unrelated.
Henri Nouwen was a Catholic priest, a theologian, and a true servant for Christ. His many writings, such as this one, have inspired countless Christians.
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it’s those, who instead of giving advice, solutions or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.”
God promises to be with us in our pain, to touch our hearts and wounds with God’s love. Jesus tells his followers, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” (John 14:1) Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to be with us. Paul describes the work of the Spirit in our lives at times of trouble in Romans: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26) God does not promise a life without struggle, wounds, or pain. But God does promise to be with us through the good times and the bad.
Often God’s love and presence in those hard times comes through another person. Think of a hard time in your life and who was present for you then. I trained to be part of a United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Emergency Response Team (ERT), if the need arose. Our primary purpose was to be a presence in the lives of those who had gone through whatever crisis has occurred. I wouldn’t be there to do search and rescue or repair homes. I would be there to assist in clean up and listen and care, to do what Henri Nouwen describes above – share the pain and touch the wounds with a warm and tender hand.
If you want to know how to help, call the church office and I’ll give you the latest needs. As I write this, we are planning to get gift cards for distribution.
In the meantime, give thanks to God the times when someone has been there for you when you needed it.
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