I heard this saying twice in the past week, and it has really got me thinking. Like you, I’ve been checking on my friends, family and those I lead. Listening to people’s stories, it is incredible to see the different ways COVID-19 has impacted, and is affecting, those I know. Some have lost family/friends or have loved ones hospitalized they cannot visit while others are hospitalized and alone. Some people don’t have a job or have drastically cut hours while others feel over-worked because they are “essential”. Some are feeling depressed being out of their routine, separated from human interaction or their support system while trying to battle addictions. We face the same storm, but our boats are not the same...the challenges we face are unique.
   
All this got me to thinking about how often life in general is stormy and people on a boat different from mine are struggling in ways I don’t know about. How many times do people need grace extended even if they may be “as prickly as a prickly pear” because of the things they are going through? Sometimes I have no patience for prickly people because of the things I am experiencing on my own boat, but when I catch a glimpse of what is going on in their boat, mine doesn’t seem so bad. Sometimes I see people taking on water, but it doesn’t seem that bad. “Just suck it up” I sometimes want to say when I’m dealing with my own issues, but what I don’t see is the crack in the bottom of their boat about to take them down.
   
The Apostle Paul shared this advice: Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.
   
I don’t know what life looks like on your boat right now, but I know in the midst of it all each day you are selflessly serving others. Thank you for treating others as more important than yourself. I’m praying for peace on your boat this week in the midst of the storm we are all navigating together. 
   
Your service is appreciated,
Pastor Rob

​I like a good quote, and one of my favorite people to quote is King Solomon, the King of Israel almost 3000 years ago. I like Solomon’s proverbs because they not only express a truth, but they unlock a deeper truth as well. This proverb is an example. At first reading, the statement appears to be a “truth”...we know that “hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all wrongs.” We’ve seen hate-filled people turn violent and we can think of times we’ve been touched or challenged seeing someone act in love to forgive.
   
But I think there is more to this proverb. What if instead of just looking at it as a description of life, we used it to test our motive for the words we speak? Are my words going to stir up dissension or are they going to cover over (forgive) wrongs? We may not consider complaining about a supervisor to co-workers or sharing the bit of gossip we just heard with somebody else as hateful, but will it stir up dissension or will it forgive wrongs? What motivates dissension? What motivates forgiveness?
   
We usually don’t want to think of ourselves as “hateful”...such a strong word. But hatred has to start somewhere, and it often starts when we are wronged and feel justified for retaliating in some small way. In reality, both stirring up dissension and covering over a wrong/forgiveness are responses we choose when we have been wronged. Isn’t it odd that it is so easy to see when somebody else has wronged us but it is so hard to rightly judge the wrong response we choose to another’s actions? We say, “I’m not a hateful person” yet we choose to counter-attack by stirring up dissension.
   
One take-away for me from this proverb of Solomon’s was this: instead of saying, “I’m not a hateful person”, maybe I should say, “I don’t want to be a hateful person” and then look at the words I choose to see if I am living up to the person I want to be.
  
I believe the profession to which you have chosen to dedicate your life speaks volumes about the person you want to be. As I pray for you this week, I pray this proverb might help you see more clearly how to be that person.
   
Your service is appreciated, 
Pastor Rob

I don’t know what faith tradition you may follow, but it seems to me that the story of Easter should bring hope to everyone. Easter is the story of a man who came to tell of a kingdom unlike any the world had seen before and unlike most could comprehend. This Kingdom grew and established itself not by brute force, but by giving and serving from a position of humility (which was often perceived as weakness), offering hope to the weak, to the helpless and even to those too proud to see they needed help. 
   
Jesus’ tried to demonstrate that his Kingdom was not based on human strength or reasoning...his Kingdom was upside down. Love those who hate you. Forgive those who wrong you. Put the needs of others before the needs of yourself. 
   
​It’s easy enough to find all that Jesus said about this Kingdom, but here’s the point I want to make today about the HOPE of the Easter story. God’s ways (the Kingdom Jesus came to tell about) are not our ways and God ALWAYS writes the final chapter...no matter how things may look along the way.
   
“Good Friday” seems like a bit of an oxymoron. It’s the day Jesus was put to death. His followers believed in him, yet somehow he died and it seemed all hope was lost. Saturday...Jesus was still dead like every other man who ever died. But Sunday...Jesus rose from the dead, proving not only that he was who he said he was, but also proving that God ALWAYS has the last word. God is not limited to doing things the way we do them (or think they should be done).
   
I don’t know how you are holding up during this time of craziness in our world, but if you feel like you’re fading...if it feels like Friday, remember God always has the last word. If you look at your life and say, “This isn’t where I thought I’d be at this point” or “I’ve really blown it”, remember what Saturday must have felt like to Jesus’ followers. But on Sunday, God had the final word.
   
I am praying for you this week. I believe in the God of hope...the God of Easter. If there is every any way I can encourage you or pray with you, please let me know. 
   
Your service is appreciated,
​Pastor Rob

One of my favorite things about doing a ride along is getting to see officers “behind the scenes”. To hear some people talk, it seems they think all officers do is look for ways to harass and ticket people. I LOVE doing ride alongs because when I hear people making “uninformed” (that’s my nice word for ‘stupid’) comments about officers in our town, I can say, “Really? Because that’s not what I have seen. Just last month I saw…”.
   
Sometimes stories of officers serving above and beyond what would be required are captured by the Department’s social media, and I know that the stories are generally told by citizens who observed the officers’ act of kindness. They tell it because you don’t. I hear you brag about outrunning our outsmarting a suspect, but I don’t hear you bragging about the time I saw you carrying an elderly gentleman’s groceries into his house for him or paying $50 for a lady whose car was being held hostage by a shady auto shop. You just serve. It’s what you do.
   
I was thinking about your service to our city during this time of craziness and uncertainty due to the coronavirus. You probably make dark humor ‘cop jokes’ about the dangers you face serving the public in these times and the situations you face, but in public you serve honorably and without fanfare. 
   
I was trying to find the right words to thank you for the personal sacrifice and the additional dangers you face serving us during this time. I watched the movie Wonder for the first time tonight, and in one scene, the teacher Mr. Browne shared a Precept with his class:
Your deeds are your monuments. ~Inscription on an Egyptian tomb. The main character, Auggie had this to say about the quote: “This precept means that we should be remembered for the things we do. The things we do are the most important things of all. They are more important than what we say or what we look like…”
   
I like that...the things we DO are most important...more than the things we SAY. Thank you for what you DO quietly and honorably serving our city during this time. This is a monument to who you are as a person, and there are many of us who appreciate you and are praying for you today.  Pastor Rob