Some of us will do all we can to know all we can before it happens so we keep that illusory sense that we are somewhat in control of what is coming. One of our members tries to “stay ahead of the curve” by asking questions about everything she can think of. It helps her stay connected and helps her feel a little more in control.
This past week our children’s pastor had her daughter as scheduled. There were several surprises along the way that made this challenging. A doctor told her the child had abnormalities and we all lived with that “reality” for two months until another doctor looked at the test results and declared there was nothing wrong with this child at all. Indeed, the girl was born healthy and well. Although abortion was never an option, it made us wonder how many misdiagnoses end up resulting in the premature destruction of children by parents who are concerned.
The fun part about this birth is that the husband didn’t know he was having a daughter. Quite a few others knew but somehow managed to keep it to themselves so that the surprise was preserved.
On the day we announced the birth in the service we had the debut of our new church orchestra. Several of our members, who we hadn’t seen on the platform together, blended beautifully for the prelude and offertory and provided a great complementary addition to the contemporary youth team who led us in worship. Being surprised by the gifts of members is always a joy.
The day all this came together, we reflected back on the 75th anniversary of D Day and the sacrificial battle where young Canadians charged into the face of the enemy on the beaches of Normandy. We thanked God that our youth aren’t involved in current conflict like this but noted that many of them are involved in fighting for the environment in an age of waste; fighting for purity in an age of sexual delusion; and fighting for life in an age focused on the destruction of life.
I was pleasantly surprised by 13 of our members who completed the first half of our spiritual care for seniors series in partnership with Shannon Oaks and Baptist Housing. This kind of commitment to shepherding ministries can only result in increasing health and strength for our church family.
Our graduates are coming to the conclusion of their terms of study and some of their fields of study show incredible diversity and talent. We hope to be pleasantly surprised by how God uses them in their fields of expertise. One surprise we are hoping for has to do with the redevelopment of our building. I was surprised to find 75 people willing to gather for a dream luncheon to consider next steps after our engineer’s report suggested we had a limited lifespan on our building. 8 members further agreed to serve on a committee to focus us forward. We celebrated our 62nd anniversary and distributed the results of our luncheon. Not surprising, some members will hesitate to walk into anything that might have surprises. Others are relishing the adventure of what might happen next if we walk by faith and trust G
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