Well, Happy Thanksgiving to you. Something happened to us yesterday that is an
absolute first for me in all the years I have been in the ministry. Let’s see … that would be 48 years or
so. I’m not sure if it was an indictment
on a half-century of behavior or just a quaint expression from a long-past era.
How was that for a build-up? So actually what happened? We received a card. Yep.
An actual Hallmark greeting card.
OK, so receiving a card is not so unusual in and of itself. But the purpose and thought behind this one
kind of caught us off-guard.
We recognized the name on the return
address. Strangely enough we had just
been talking about them. The card was from
a couple who had visited Seaside for the first time last Sunday. Quite an unexpected development to receive a
card just three days from their visit.
What could possibly have impacted them enough to feel the need to write
us about it? I honestly had no idea what
to expect. This was, after all, Seaside
we are talking about. Many unusual
things happen here all the time, which makes, I suppose, the unusual … the
usual.
Chris opened it up and then handed it to me
for my perusal. It was indeed a simple
Hallmark card. The front print said, “Some
people have a special gift for making others feel welcome.” The inside print read, “Thank you for your
hospitality.” Now, I pride myself on
being aware of the many types of card on the market, since I send out a stack
of birthday and anniversary cards every week.
I have to say this one was a first.
And then I read the extra message from the senders. It went like this: “Pastor Kelley and Chris,
We so enjoyed the service yesterday.
Everyone was so nice. We hope to
be back in the near future. Happy
Thanksgiving.”
Now we have received thank you notes
before. But this one was just so timely
and absolutely refreshing. How many
times have you heard of someone writing a message of encouragement to the church
they just visited? First for me. Of course my pastor-pride swelled a bit to
hear that our Seasiders were being the church.
I do look forward to seeing how God will “fit in” this new family into
our Seaside family.
1 Chronicles 16:34 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.”
Father, thank you for families like this
one who love you and care about their extended family – your Church. Amen.
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