Clothesline - Edition 227

By Rev. Elizabeth L. Nelson, Pastor

November 27, 2024  

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and I’m faced with the same thoughts I have every year at this time. It’s all about the feeling of “presence.” To me presence means connection. It doesn’t have to be “in person”. It could be a phone call, a card on your birthday, a letter in the mail. It’s letting another person know he or she is thought of.

I just heard a touching story on the radio of a grandmother who had kept recordings of phone messages from her granddaughter…for eighteen years! Perhaps you remember, years ago, when there was a tiny cassette tape player attached to your home phone line where messages were recorded? Well, this grandma was so touched hearing from her granddaughter, that she kept the messages. “Gramma, call me when you get this message,” said the cute little voice. The next message, sometime later, asked gramma to come over and watch a movie with her. As years passed, there were more messages, and the last message from an older child was, “Gramma, I couldn’t wait to tell you. I got a job at Subway, and I start tomorrow!” You can just hear the presence, the connection, the love, and I hope you noticed, it didn’t take much. It’s too bad we couldn’t see the smile on that grandmother’s face.

The world doesn’t help us keep connected, does it. Because there is always so much to do, so much going on around us, I believe that we often lose track of what’s really important. For younger children, there are lots of activities to occupy them, many gadgets to keep them busy, perhaps losing the opportunity to be a “presence” to someone else. Teenagers looking to conquer the world are bombarded with pressure to produce, to be the best, to come out on top, to be accepted by the best college, and on and on and on. Adults have jobs, families, stresses that get bottled up inside. And my question is this: where in all this is the presence of God? Oh, you might say that the “God” presence is a given, that whether one takes time out for a daily prayer or Sunday worship, one can still claim that presence.

But, let’s get real here. In truth, unless we seek out that Sunday morning presence with God, He will take a back seat in your life. I don’t care who you are, it can happen to anyone. Think of Sunday morning as God’s invitation to spend time in His presence, to make your presence known to Him…just like those phone calls to Gramma. You have to know that your God smiles and opens His arms to you when you take the time to be present to Him.

In the hustle and bustle of this world, don’t miss an opportunity to share your presence with someone else and with your God. You will be blessed. Your gesture may be exactly what another person needs. You will be the presence of Jesus to that person. And when you set aside the world, and give Sunday morning to God, blessings will abound. And that’s not my promise; it’s His!