A Dwelling Place for All

Is there a special place in your heart that your mind travels to when your soul needs a safe place to dwell?  When life has become too complicated and you long for a "simpler place in time?"  When I was younger, this special place was my grandparents' farm in Deforest, Wisconsin.  A quiet man of the earth, my grandfather raised pigs and grew field corn and tobacco.  My grandmother was gracious and always hospitable -  an amazing cook, a gifted quilter and seamstress, and an award-winning baker.  Their door was open to anyone in need of a meal or in need of good company.  The aroma of freshly baked bread and the warmth from the wood burning stove had a way of saying to every guest -  "Welcome,  take your coat off and stay a while."   As a teenager, and well into my adult years, a visit to my grandparents' was always a time of respite and renewal for me.

As the years moved on and my faith grew deeper, the Church became that special place in my heart.  The place I learned to turn to for security, friendship, and a sense of belonging.  The Church became that safe place for my soul to dwell.  In Psalm 23, David reflects on the wonderful assurances we have as God's people.  He ends the Psalm by proclaiming "I shall dwell in the House of the Lord my whole life long."  What a comfort. What a promise.  To dwell with God's people forever.  To be God's child forever.  To be redeemed.  To be assured of a place in God's House forever. What a treasure! The world may change.  Our lives may be uncertain at times, but we can be assured that we will always have the Church.  We will always have God's family to surround us. 

I cannot imagine my life without the Church and I give thanks to God that I don't have to.  The Church is my lifeline.  It's what sustains me.  It's where I get my strength and confidence to be a follower of Christ in the world.  As we prepare our hearts to make a commitment to our capital appeal, and prayerfully consider our gift, I invite you to reflect on how the Church has been a blessing on your life.  How the Church has changed your life.  And then, consider the generations to come who will need the Church.  And finally, consider this:  that well over half of our La Crosse community does not have a church home - a "dwelling place" where they can be surrounded by God's family.  What an opportunity for us to create a building that will warmly welcome the stranger.  And a building that will not only welcome the stranger, but a dwelling place that gently says "take your coat off and stay a while."

In Christ, Together We Grow.

In peace,

Cara H.