From the Pastor's Pen

Dear friends,

Theo (my voracious Basset Hound) ate an entire loaf of bread yesterday.  I certainly didn’t plan that he should eat it.  I had baked two loaves of whole grain bread so I could send one loaf with Mike to my parents when he went to Battle Creek to film.  The loaves were cooling in the center of the large Island counter in my kitchen where Theo should not have been able to reach them.  I went upstairs briefly but closed Theo out of the kitchen with the doggie gate.  Or at least I thought I closed him out!

Somehow he managed to open the gate and leap high enough to grab one of the loaves of bread of the center of the counter.  He ate the whole thing.  When I came downstairs he was standing below the counter and looking up at the second loaf of bread with interest.  I quickly ascertained I was short a loaf of bread and demanded, “What did you do?”  Tail between his legs he waddled toward the back door knowing he was about to be thrown outside.  His big belly swung from side to side.  It was like you could see the whole loaf of bread on his insides.  I sent him outside for a spell and put him on time out in the bathroom when he came back inside.  (It was too cold to leave him outside to weep and gnash his teeth.)

The rest of the day Theo was pretty sedate.  He laid about the house and I wondered if his tummy hurt.  I didn’t feed him supper, and he didn’t seem to notice although he started begging for a snack later in the evening.  No snacks for Theo!!!  Even thought I’m sure he had forgotten what he’d done, his belly was still large!  A snack was the last thing he needed.

I share this story with you because we have just entered the season of Lent when we are seeking to draw closer to our Lord.  Sometimes in this season we need to turn away from things that either hinder our relationship with God or are just generally bad for us.  We call this repentance when we desist from pursuing a wrong path, turn around, and take a good path that leads us toward God and the life God offers us.  It occurs to me, however, that sometimes we still end up suffering the results of our sin (our bad choices or behavior.)  Still God’s grace is evident.  God doesn’t leave us out in the cold and sometimes removes bad choices from us so we won’t do further damage to ourselves or others.

May you find the Lord drawing near as you walk this Lenten journey of personal renewal and faith.  God’s grace is everywhere around you.

Peace,

Pr. Sally