A Lenten Devotion by Rick Seaholm
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35 (NRSV)
I miss my Grandma. On the tenth anniversary of her passing I wrote a testimony on what she had meant to me. Nearly five more years have come and gone and that original post still brings tears to my eyes. Upon reading it just a few moments ago, I was reminded of how the sadness of her passing was eased somewhat by an unexpected surrogate relationship right here at Edwards Church.
My grandmother was a member of Grace Congregational Church for as many years as I was aware, and when she no longer could attend in person, a visiting team would make their way to her home, socially. A few years back, one of the greatest Christmas gifts came to me a few weeks early. I had dedicated a poinsettia in her name, and a new woman approached me after the service, asking how did I know Orlena? I learned that day that Gloria Sadler had been one of my grandmother’s visitors many years before, and she still remembered her. This relationship has been one of the most important things that has come out of my time at Edwards Church, further reminding me that higher powers were in play when I made my way to the United Church of Christ in the first place.
The most spectacular thing about Grandma’s religion was that she never wore it on her sleeve. The only way you’d know what was in her heart was by observing the way she lived her life. That is how I want to live. She understood the value of the new commandment, loving her God and each of her grandchildren with her whole heart. She was a quiet Christian, generous and loving, and as her body began to break down, she lived her life through those of us who still had steps to take. It is an incredible honor knowing that, through our recent merger, I am now serving with members of her congregation. Grandma is still with me.
God, even in times of loss and sadness, help us see potential silver linings and the opportunity for entirely new relationships from the least expected places. Amen