Dear Family,
For the past 30 days, Carah and I have had our 5-month-old grandson in our home. It’s been 30 years since we had our first newborn child in our home. I can remember the long nights with Jordan, our firstborn. She had colic, never slept for more than 1 hour, and often cried for 3-hour stints at a time.
Shortly after bring her home I broke my ankle at UPS, and Carah had just had a cesarean section. We were a hot mess with a baby who cried non-stop. After five days, I was placed in a walking cast, quickly becoming the soother of Jordan’s cries as Carah was still recovering from major surgery. We were a pair as she cried, and I “clunked” in my walking cast in our tiny duplex in Angels Camp. Due to exhaustion, I am unsure who cried more, Jordan or me.
Night after night, this went on for three months. One can only ponder things in the darkness of life on your 561st lap around your 800 sf house. I remember the frustration of not getting an owner’s manual at the hospital. Soon, as a young dad, I noticed a very subtle difference in her cries. One cry was hunger, another was a full diaper, but the harsh cry came from the overload of colic. I took me listening intently to discern her cries.
This past 30 days, with our grandson, Emmett, one of the easiest babies I have ever spent time with, I was reminded to listen intently to learn his cries too. We had to spend time with the baby to get to know him so well that we could differentiate his cries and give him what he needed. To get to know Emmett closely, we had to ABIDE.
Do you want to get to know the voice of the Holy Spirit? Then it would be best if you abode in him. Once you get to know His still, small voice, you will have deep fellowship with Him. The problem is the world is loud. Satan is a master of distraction making sure your life is too loud to her the still small voice of God. I hope you are enjoying the book Abide in Christ by Andrew Murry. I pray you are getting closer to Jesus as you learn to abide in the vine.
This Sunday, we will examine how our time, talents, and resources play a role in our abiding. Church starts at 9:30 a.m. Who might you invite this week? Jordan and I bonded from all those sleepless nights; we hope you find a lifelong closeness as you learn to Abide in Christ.
In Him,
Pastor Chris