THURSDAY, MARCH 12
Psalm 122:1 When they said, "Let's go to the House of God," my heart leaped for joy.
On my mother's eighth birthday, her father died. Subsequently, she and her three siblings were separated and each sent to live with a different distant relative.
She kept in touch with her family of origin by writing letters, especially to her mother. When I grew up, I also wrote letters to Third Grandma who then lived with her son Hugh (my uncle) on a farm in Iowa. After Grandma died, Hugh took up the correspondence, though writing was difficult for him. He was left-handed, but had been required to learn to write right-handedly.
He mostly sent greeting cards for holidays and birthdays, often with a dollar or two, and always with a page of labored writing on lined paper. One letter mentioned that he was going to church, which had not been his habit. After that, he frequently reported going to church, saying "Everything goes better when you go to church." At his funeral, the minister and the members lovingly recalled Hugh's faithfulness in attendance, ushering, and welcoming people.
I often think of Uncle Hugh, and give thanks that he was welcomed into a faith community and that his life was better because of faithful worship. I am glad that my life, too, is better for the experience of worshiping regularly with a special and loving congregation. Thanks be to God.
Prayer: Loving God, bless us as we keep the faith by participating in worship, offering hospitality, and singing your praises. With thanksgiving, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Ginnie Spurr
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