WOW!

Just in case you've been busy lately watching Badger basketball or feeding your Spring Fever by careening through seed catalogs and perusing travel brochures, I want to remind you that we're in the middle of the season of Lent.  Your remember Lent... it's that season that some people give things up for.  But don't worry, I'm not going to guilt you into giving something up.  If you haven't done it by now, you've missed the starting gun, anyway.  No, I want to tell you about someone else I know who did make the seasonal sacrifice.   Sydney is 6 years old and the daughter of friends from college.  Sydney chose to give up jewelry for Lent.  This was no easy sacrifice for her. Sydney is the kind of girl who lays out necklaces and bracelets with each outfit before going to bed at night.   When her mother asked her how her first day with no jewelry had gone, this is what Sydney said:

"I complimented Kyra on her necklace.  She asked me why I didn't have jewelry on.  I told her because it was Lent.  She said "What's that?"   I told her, "It's when we give up something for a lot of days to remember that Jesus died on the cross for us".  Kyra said, "Wow!"

Wow is right!  It's always a "wow moment" when we realize that it's working... that faith is being passed on to a new generation of believers.  At the age of six, Sydney is already so committed to Jesus that she would voluntarily give up something she loves in order to know and love Him better.  Not only that, but she's already sharing her faith with others... wow!   These things don't happen by accident or osmosis, you know.  Sydney is part of an ELCA Lutheran congregation where her Sunday School teachers, VBS teachers, Pastor, and others have cared about her and taught her about Jesus.  She lives in a Christian family where those church lessons are reinforced daily, and having a relationship with Jesus is modeled by her parents.  Because of that, for now, believing in Jesus and talking about him with others seems like the most natural thing in the world.   Someday Sydney will question her faith.  Someday, in a healthy quest to form her own identity, she's going to wonder if she really believes in Jesus or if she just does it to make her parents happy.  And when that time comes her church family will still be there to care about her, talk about her questions with her, and teach her more new things.  And then one day, hopefully, all-grown-up Sydney will be at church teaching and caring about kids, and one of those little kids will tell her what they're giving up for Lent.  With a little, joyful tear in her eye Sydney will say to herself "Wow!"   This is what it's all about folks!  Give thanks to God for the people who sacrified and shared faith with you!  A big "Thank you!" to all of you who teach and care about the kids and youth in our congregation!  And to those of you who don't know the power and joy of the "wow moment", come and experience it for yourself.  The kids are here and anxious to meet you!

Peace,

Pastor Russ burkepastor@tds.net

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