Dear Rose Park,
Last week I received an email out of the blue from my first grade teacher. I went to Lakeview Elementary school on the south side of Holland. Lakeview stood at the corner of Lugers and 32nd Street. I use the past tense ‘stood’ because Lakeview doesn’t even exist anymore. I was there when they rung the bell for the last time. Some time later they demolished the building and put up a dog-park, but that has since changed as well. Anyways, I was surprised to receive the email because I hadn’t spoke to this teacher in quite some time, but the content of the email brought a smile to my face and heart.
It was a ‘praying for you’ kind of email. She let me know that my family had been in her thoughts and prayers lately. Then by the power of the Spirit, she had bumped into my mom at Target and had been quickly brought up to speed on the lives of the Waterstone boys. After hearing my family had moved back to the area, she thought it would be important to let me know that she was praying for us as we navigate new jobs and new little ones. It was a beautiful email and I’m so glad she listened to the Spirit’s prompting to write it.
I’m praying for you. It’s such a power statement, isn’t it? When it’s said with a genuine heart these words can instill hope. Unfortunately, because of various factors, I worry we hear these words as words of pity or even shame. Perhaps we even feel inferior when we hear these words directed towards us. But in fact, we all need to pray and be prayed for; it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with us or that we’re inferior because we need prayer. I need you to pray for me. You need me to pray for you. When these words are said and heard with genuine hearts, they can bring us closer to each other as we’re drawn closer to Him.
So, who can you pray for and who can pray for you? Maybe you can pray for those who are lonely this time of year. Maybe you need prayer because you’re anxious as you think about what might come in 2020. Maybe you can pray for our mission partners both near and far. Maybe you need prayer for safe travels around the holidays. Maybe you can pray that our denomination and the global church would continue to follow after Christ’s call to be disciples and make disciples. Or maybe you need prayer for a softened heart to return to the Gospel. We all need to pray and we all need to be prayed for.
As we continue in this Advent season, waiting and anticipating the birth of Jesus let us all spend time today and in the days to come in prayer.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark