Wrapped Up in Prayer

Everything is set for Jan’s surgery at 3pm on Monday, December 23, 2013 to remove the tumor near her ovaries. The waiting has been the hardest part, and that certainly made me think of Advent and waiting for hope. It’s tough to wait … not knowing. Is it cancer? Is it benign? Is it contained? Will the doctor be able to get it all? It’s tough to wait.

Jan and I continue to give thanks to God for the overwhelming support and love that has come our way. The prayers have given us strength and comfort and hope. And Jan’s prayer shawl has taken form. It’s been quite amazing. Jan will wrap herself up with it, and it’s like she literally feels all the love.

I had first gotten the idea of a prayer shawl from a meeting I attended at the Congregational Church of Austin, where they have a Prayer Net, a visual representation of the prayers of the people. Folks are invited to say a prayer and then tie a piece of fabric onto the net.

I found a net-like shawl and then asked people to send a piece of fabric so that we could add it to the shawl. The response has been incredible! So many people have sent strips of cloth! Folks from our church, folks from our old church; in fact, several churches have sent groups of strips. Old friends and coworkers of Jan from Navasota ISD sent strips, relatives and friends from around the nation. Some printed their names on the strip or wrote well-wishes. Others sent cards with their cloths with inspirational and comforting messages. One friend of mine, Chris, who is an incredible guitar player (and can build them too!) sent a piece of fabric from a cloth he uses to take care of his instruments.

As you might imagine, Jan often cries when she receives a piece of fabric and ties it into the shawl, but these are tears of gratitude, for to receive so much love, to be lifted up by so many, to know people you don’t even know are saying prayers daily for your health—it is amazing. And yet, this does not even come close to the amount of love that our God has for each of us!

Thinking of wrapping up in prayer, I often think of God as a soft, snugly, comfy blanket. In prayer, I then imagine God wrapping around me like that blanket, bringing me to a place of warmth and security and love.

Whenever Jan is scared or worried or hurting, she holds the prayer shawl close to her, and in some special God-given way, she is reminded of the Lord’s care and how many people are offering thoughts and prayers for her. And we’re not picky about who the prayers come from. Folks from all flavors of Christianity have contributed strips of cloth, Jews, a Hindu, even folks who may be agnostic or atheist—at least they want to support Jan. And it’s been amazing to me to see how many lives Jan and I have touched.

It’s still not too late to send a piece of fabric. The fabric can be any color or pattern, but it should be approximately 1 in. by 12 in. long.

Think of Jan and say a prayer for her as you prepare the piece of fabric. Then mail it to me at:

Ron Trimmer
125 Summers Green
Georgetown, TX 78633

As we are near Christmas, I thought of the passage from Luke where Mary wraps the baby Jesus in “swaddling clothes.” I always preferred that older translation to the more current NRSV that says “bands of cloth.” But thinking of all the “bands” of cloth on Jan’s prayer shawl. I think that’s fine too!

It is with the deepest gratitude that I give thanks for your love and support!

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” -Luke 2:8-14

Ron Trimmer is pastor of Hope United, a new church in Georgetown, Texas. Click here to visit Hope United’s website.

Advent Conspiracy

This year, I’ve been leading my congregation in a little Advent Conspiracy. I found out about it from an article, Reimagining Christmas, in Sojourner’s magazine. Advent Conspiracy is a movement to help us to reclaim the true meaning of Christmas.

The story of Christ’s birth is a story of promise, hope, and revolutionary love. And yet, somehow this wonderful season has turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists.

I invite you to join me in this Advent Conspiracy by committing to: Worship Fully
Spend Less
Give More
Love All

Worship Fully
It all starts with Jesus, the coming King. Though many of us in this nation and consumer culture claim to be Christian, to worship the Lord our God and follow in the way of our Savior, we know that the gods of consumerism and material wealth have hijacked our devotion.

Do you think money will save you? Is it what drives you? Not that you are greedy, but that you worry about it, you work for it, for you need it to be comfortable, to be happy, to be rewarded?

And even the blessed gift of giving has come to serve these gods, as everything around us—the endless message of media and shopping, focuses us on buying more and more stuff.

Join with me in putting the Lord first in your life again, the author of salvation, the author of eternal life. It is God and God alone who saves, who fills our deepest needs, who gives us meaning and purpose, who brings hope and peace and justice, who satisfies the longings of our heart and gives us what we really need. Let us gather with the shepherds who brought their flocks to kneel at the foot of the Good Shepherd, and let us journey with the wise men, who worshiped the newborn King.

Worship fully. Give your heart, your passion, your devotion—give it all in exaltation to the Prince of Peace, King of kings and Lord of lords, Emmanuel, God-with-us.
 

Spend Less
This is not to say we’re against gifts. I love to both receive and give gifts. According to the Advent Conspiracy resources, the U.S. spends an average of $450 billion a year on Christmas. Christmas is not about buying stuff.

One of my fondest memories of my mother is remembering the look on her face as her children opened their Christmas presents, a smile on her lips and her eyes afire with love and gleeful anticipation. But sometimes we get so wrapped up in buying presents, often from a sense of obligation or dare I say guilt, and then some of us spend too much, even going in to debt, that we miss the best gift of all—grace, which is always, always free. Giving gifts is supposed to teach us about grace. And so I ask you to buy one less gift this year. That’s it. Just one.

Give More
In response to spending less, we should give more, not with money, but through our relationships. Make an effort to spend some quality time with your children or spouse, find a way to serve. And give more of yourself. Don’t take things for granted. Be present to people, fully. Invest yourself in your relationships, whether with your friends, family, or Savior.

And if you do want to make a gift of your financial resources, consider giving a gift that helps the least of these, the poor or powerless. Thankfully, there are many very good nonprofits and missions out there. Both the Disciples and the UCC through their partnership in Global Ministries do an enormous amount to help people, not just with charity and band-aids although there is relief aid, but also by helping people better themselves, from building wells to helping people with sustainable agriculture, to micro-loans, to gifts of livestock and the building of schools. You can sponsor a child in another nation for about a $1 a day.

Give more. For it truly is more blessed to give than to receive, and by giving more, we follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior, who gave us everything.

Love All
It’s all about love, for Jesus is love incarnate. And Jesus shared love with everyone. Join me in committing to love all. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. -John 3:16-17

In Jesus, we know we are loved, beyond merit, beyond comprehension. And let us not forget that all means all! Every person, no matter who they are, are worthy of love, from the vilest sinner to the most holy saint. Jesus loves everyone, and asks us to do the same. And if God shows any partiality it is to the poor, the powerless, the disenfranchised and downtrodden and oppressed. Jesus cared deeply for the least of these, and Jesus asked us to also care, to love all.

Click here to visit the Advent Conspiracy website and learn more.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”
-Luke 2:10-12

Ron Trimmer is pastor of Hope United, a new church in Georgetown, Texas. Click here to visit Hope United’s website.