This is my week to write the Pastor's Corner for our local newspaper and I decided to post it here as well. I hope you enjoy the read.
Hand of God?
I wish theology was simple. I suppose
if it was, there would not be between thirty and forty thousand
different denominations of Christianity not to mention the different
sects of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Many of these belief
systems are pretty sure they are the ones who have gotten it right.
Do not expect me to clear all of this
up in this Pastor's Corner. However, there is something about my
beliefs that I would like to share. I do believe God is actively
involved in my life. I believe God guided me back to Chariton after
a forty year absence. Too many things just kind of fell into place
when Sherry and I were considering moving here but it isn't just the
big events like a move. Little things happen too that seem like more
than coincidences.
A parishioner loaned me a book a few
days ago titled, When God Winks at You by SQuire Rushnell. It is a collection of
accounts of people who have had things happen to them that some might
call coincidences but others might chalk up to more than that. The
author calls them God winks. This book begins with a story about a
woman named Mavis who had planned for years to go to the Crystal
Cathedral in California. One Sunday she decided to finally attend
one of their services. She arrived and was ushered to a seat next to
a young woman. The two of them began to talk and share their
stories. The younger woman said she was from the Midwest and she was
in the state because she was trying to find her birth mother. Mavis
told her that when she was young she had had to give her daughter up
for adoption. She said it had always been a painful memory. The
young woman asked her when the baby had been born and after more
sharing they realized that they were mother and daughter. Was it a
coincidence or was God winking at them?
Most of us do not have these kinds of
amazing experiences but we have all had times when God winked at us
in different ways. People may have shown up when help was needed or
someone told you something that you needed to hear.
Bad things will still happen to good
people and we do not know why. However, that does not mean that God
is not walking with us during difficult times. We all must walk
through the valley of the shadow of death. Just remember you are not
alone.
God Bless You,
Fr. Fred Steinbach
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
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