GOOD HOPE PARISH
"Celebrating and sharing together Christ's love and hope for all people."
Good Hope Parish Informer
“Celebrating and sharing together Christ’s love for all people.”
Pastor's Ink
"On Illness"
We have all been ill and at various stages of illness from time to time. From the common cold to having to stay for days at a hospital in order to recover, our bodies can either quickly OR very slowly dispense with illness.
Illness has some upsides, though. What else can one do but be left to one's thoughts when they cannot be active with their legs and hands over a significant period of time (for me, even between lunch and supper laying in bed looking at the ceiling and trying to nap can seem like an eternity, while battling a fever). The paused time for thinking can be like little gold gems from time to time in the midst of days of illness. I am writing about this exact reality for me right now. A surprising diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia at an Emergency Room visit can lead to the eventual pathway of taking a lot of time for two goals on the day: healing and thinking.
The healing process does not always lend itself at every moment for the ability to think clearly-- that is not a fever's responsibility. But taking a time-out on the world and gathering new perspectives on life can possibly arise between periods of bedrest.
Thank you for your understanding of my absence in these late May days as I've lived through my second bout of pneumonia. The first bout was back in college
while doing government research in cold morning corn fields and then getting into cold air-conditioned vans at every turn. The bout I have had from May 22 recently was probably because of an improperly cleaned humidifier-- Lesson Learned!!
King David had been sick. And he wrote in Psalm 41:3, The Lord sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness you heal all their infirmities (NRSV). One of our bedrock promises that we have as Christians is that God is with us at all times. And perhaps it is in slowly healing where we most want this promise of presence and sustenance from God at all times.
May you be well in these upcoming summer days! Don't let illness rob you of chosen rest and leisure, and the work that you want to get done. God is with you in all seasons... including illness.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Chad Christensen
Prayer is powerful, meaningful, comforting interaction with God. Please pray for members who can no longer or can seldom worship in our facilities, persons undergoing treatments or therapies, person with chronic illness, persons facing terminal illness, persons grieving personal loss, person serving in the military and persons in special circumstances.
Please contact your church office to add names to the prayer list.
Good Hope Parish Informer
“Celebrating and sharing together Christ’s love for all people.”