F.E.E.D. #2

F.E.E.D is an acronym for “Family Emphasis Enrichment and Development." From Mother’s Day through Independence Day weekend we will be focusing our sermons on how we can be better parents, a better spouse, a better son or daughter, how we can be more connected to our local fellowship, and many other virtues which should improve as we grow in our faith. A secondary purpose is to remind the congregation that we need to focus inward for a portion of our yearly messages and activities. You often hear the term personal development, F.E.E.D will speak to this growth dynamic, so each of us should be prepared to evaluate where we are in our growth process.

On our final F.E.E.D Sunday we will have a guest speaker (more to come about that gathering) so plan on being at every service. Our 2021 theme is “Family Reunion.” I am so thankful for the mercy and grace God has shown me, especially as it relates to my family and extended family during this season of unrest and the unknown which has gripped the world for more than a year. More specifically my 86 and 84-year-old parents' quality of life and their age-related health issues. Family reunions have become very elusive. Here is a thought from a four-year-old F.E.E.D. article… “no one owns the market on “normal”, it is a very elusive proposition. Does God help us to live victoriously? Yes, but we are all still flawed vessels, with levels of dysfunctional family behavior needing His help on a daily basis. The moment you think you have it all together as a family is when life or God shows you just how undone you really are and He has no problem pointing out your finite and flawed relationships.”

Does God like to embarrass us? No. More often than not we do it to ourselves. In a sense, we tell God, "hey God I can take care of this from now on! I have this family thing figured out." Most people use the plan, it's my way or the highway! Spoiler alert, it only works for so long. Thank goodness He(God) doesn't let us drown in our arrogance, but He will allow us to get to the place of needing to cry out for His help. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:12, ”There is a path before each person(family) that seems right, but it ends in death.” Psalm 34:6 says, "In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.” I would encourage you to meditate on the whole 34th chapter. So often we find ourselves basking in moments of brilliance, and we think it must be our incredible ability to comprehend the situation at hand and provide just as incredible of a solution! Family Reunion is not about planning the next big all-family gathering, which I encourage, rather we remind ourselves how we need each other. Especially how much we need the Holy Spirit’s guidance and empowerment. Think about how many trips were canceled, funerals that didn’t happen, nursing home and end-of-life gatherings not allowed, just to name a few. All done to reduce the spread of an unseen enemy. How would we have acted differently if we knew how 2020 would unfold? Is there a possibility we were not as dependent upon the 3rd person of the Trinity as we should have been? If so, would we have been more intentional about getting together with loved ones? Now is our opportunity to redeem the time, redeem our gathering together with family, having a new commitment to Family Reunion.