A Sunday Milestone

A Family Reunion + Thought for Today

My entire immediate family gathered in Lincoln this past weekend. The special occasion was the confirmation of our oldest grand-daughter Brianna, who was confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lincoln. Although this was our church home from 1975-2003, none of my kids were confirmed there. Nathan was confirmed at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Aiea, HI; Sarah & Rachel were both confirmed at Grace Lutheran Church in Norfolk, NE.

It was a wonderful service with the focus on the Gospel message. Despite family hardships & crises, we live in the power of Jesus Christ's death & resurrection. To be able to worship together with my wife, our children & grand-children . . . To come to the communion rail with them . . . To see Brianna confirmed in her Christian faith--all contributed to a special Sunday.

The confirmation lunch after the service was also a highlight. We gathered with not only our own family but Craig's family, as well, & we enjoyed fine food & fellowship. [KUDO's to Craig for awesome pulled pork. I won't hold my subsequent weight gain over the weekend against him.]

Nathan, Laura, & Calvin had to leave quickly after lunch, since both the kids had to work on MON 4/16. They didn't make it back to Eagan on Sunday, however, due to snow-packed roads. They made it as far as Albert Lea, MN, & continued home yesterday. [The Twin Cities were hammered by snow & blizzard conditions from Saturday thru early Monday morning.]

We weren't quite sure what we would encounter when we got home on Sunday, since Norfolk was in a blizzard warning from 10:00p FRI night thru 10:00p SAT night. It turned out that we only got around 4" of snow, & roads were clear. Our driveway was clear, too.

Confirmation is a wonderful celebration but tempered by reality. I learned this statistic some years ago. Half of confirmands become inactive members of the church by the end of their high school years. Another 25% become inactive by their mid-20s. So, my prayer for all confirmands, especially Brianna, is that they do not view confirmation as an end of a process of faith-building. Instead, they view it as a milestone in their continued fellowship with other believers & with Christ . . . that it's a milestone meant to lead to further worship, regular participation in the Lord's Supper, prayer, & Bible study.

Thought for Today

This past year has been hard on my family. We've experienced the death of a brother-in-law, along with various health crises which have struck our brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, aunts & uncle. It's easy to despair. I know that from personal experience. Yet I draw comfort & strength from the only source of true peace, true healing of body, mind & soul. Which leads into my thought, well, Martin Luther's thought for today.

“Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Ps. 30:5

“Trials seem long lasting, but they are short before God, who provides the outcome & will indeed permit us to be afflicted but not overcome. For we are founded on the solid Rock, which is Christ.”  Martin Luther Psalm by Psalm, Concordia Publishing House, 2017.