Table Talk: Sometimes Step By Step
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Welcome to the first of Pastoral Columns called Table Talk. Every two weeks, there will be an essay from Dennis Sanders and other church leaders about how we live out our lives in light of the communion we receive each Sunday. Here is the first one about my cat Pedro and the aspect of faith.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
-Hebrews 11:1-3
Dear Friends in Christ,
My husband and I took our two cats in for their regular physical recently. Other than being a bit overweight, Ansel and Pedro are doing well. There's just one exception: Pedro has no vision in either eye, which is a nice way of saying he is now blind.
Our vet wasn't surprised. After all Pedro is nearly 19 years old, which is the early 90s in human years. Pedro could still have a good life even though he can't see anymore. As one article I read stated: "cats don't have to see you to love you."
Pedro is not helpless. He walks around the house, probably with the help of a "mind-map" and because he scents certain objects in the house. He can still find something to eat and grab a drink of water. He can still go to the little box. He can even climb up to join us in bed.
But being blind is not without its problems. Sometimes Pedro will walk and stumble into a wall or a broom or something else. But he keeps going. He runs into a door, but he keeps walking.
What I've come to realize about Pedro is that he is taking everything by faith. He is not confined to his tuffet afraid to move from this place of safety. He can no longer see the waterdish or the foodbowl, but he trusts that things are where he remembers and if he doesn't know where something is, he walks into walls and other objects until he gets where he is going. He trusts he will get where he wants to go.
The writer of Hebrews defines faith as trusting in things hoped for. We hope God will bring healing and bring forth peace in this war-weary world. We hope that as we walk through this life, God will be with us.
But let's face it; life is scary. We can't always see clearly. The temptation is strong to stay on the tuffet where we believe we will find safety. But just like God called Abraham at the age of 75 to leave everything he knew and follow God to an unknown country, we are called to venture from safety into faith. God's got us.
In the life of this church, we are living through an unknown time. The pandemic has affected us. We have lost members. Now there is talk of selling the building and moving. We don't know where we are headed and we fear running smack dab into a wall. And we will hit walls. But God is with us and leads us even when we bump into a wall.
The late singer/songwriter Rich Mullins scored one of his many hits in the early 90s with the song "Sometimes Step By Step." It is a song that has been sung in church sanctuaries across this country. The song talks about the uncertainties of walking with God. But in the end, he can belt out this chorus that speak against the darkness:
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
And I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days
I don't know where this church is headed. What I do know is that God is with us. Let us pray for hearts that are ready to see God in our journeys.
If God can help a cat find their way to food, imagine what God will do with us.
Godspeed everyone.
Dennis Sanders, Pastor
Holy God, sometimes our lives are uncertain and we feel blind. Give us the courage to walk in the face of not knowing where we are going, but knowing that you are with us as we walk this walk of life. Amen.
What do you think? Send us an email with your thoughts and observations: info@fccsaintpaul.org.