Blessed Community

Dear Eden,

Parenting is so difficult. Man. Having to decide now what shape and form your health care will be in as we wrestle with the unknown has been a burden on my back. What if we don’t do the right amount of care and you suffer for it? What if we overreact and are judged by others for our decisions and have to pay much more for that reaction?

As this was bearing down on me during our staff training days, there was a call for prayer requests from a school administrator. The family of French Camp has been so drawn into community this week that at the risk of being seen as rash, blubbering, and basically a mess, I decided that I should share about our struggle to know how to best serve you in this new knowledge. Tears came immediately as I talked and I felt like a fool. There were bewildered looks at first and the older crowd of teachers couldn’t even hear what I had said.

But when the details were known, let me tell you about the body of Christ. We need each other for a reason. There is grace to be found in the precious precious family of God. The staff prayed for me, surrounded me to ask for details, told me that we must share our burdens with one another and not maintain some sort of poised pretense. They were compassionate with tears and hugs. One sister told me emphatically that it is God’s desire to see you, little Eden, have the care you would need -- and that they would raise the money themselves if they had to for it. 

This experience has drawn me closer to ones I normally keep at arms length. It has humbled me in front of ones I have looked down upon. It has opened up a space for them to love me and for me to receive their kindness and compassion. And in that moment, my loyalty to our little town of 300 is as fierce as ever for the little portal of heaven that it is. God has granted me grace in my weakness through the hands and feet of the church. God’s family, even with all our weaknesses and sins and selfishness, is full of the Holy Spirit. And sometimes you can smell the holiness among us, an aroma so sweet, it’s to die for. 

Love you,

Momma