Dear Glen Mar,
It’s Mother’s Day this weekend, and I want to invite all of you to join us for worship. I’ll be present in person after what feels like forever, and I’m particularly excited to pray for our high school seniors as we honor them this weekend too.
We have a senior in our house, as many of you know, and while Glen Mar missed out on the “middle part” of her childhood, I’m so proud to say that Pastor Andy baptized her in 2003. She was in cherub choir and Sunday school, and Glen Mar laid a good foundation for her conviction from even the youngest of ages that she is made in the image of God, that God loves her deeply, and that God’s love is for all people. She also has been schooled in Things I Do Not Want Said/Done/Played or Preached at My Funeral Hopefully a Very Long Time From Now. Being a preacher’s kid also has its burdens, as any of our offspring will tell you. She’s done emergency crafts for children’s sermons and spent hours in offices and cars while Mom attends meetings. And in the course of it all, she’s discovered important things about God, and about herself, and about her gifts and how God is, or might be, calling her to use them.
The point of bringing our senior into this is not to tell you how wonderful she is (though that is my unbiased opinion). It is to say that discipleship starts much earlier than we might think, and that the time that is invested in our children and teens is so important, and never wasted. For example, check out our Local Mission Week as an easy way for families to serve neighbors in Christ’s name. #growingdisciples and #servingtheworld #atthesametime!
And I would say to this year’s seniors, I know these past 2 years especially have been harder than you, or any of us, could have imagined. I am so very proud of you. And, you are made in God’s image, and given so many gifts that God wants to use to bless the world. Your love for math, or art, or music or literature or history or science gives God as much pleasure as it gives you. You are precious and loved, and when you miss the mark, you are still precious and loved. God calls you to a life that’s about more than just you yourself. God made you to love God and love your neighbor and to do good works—to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” Micah 6:8.
As you move into the next part of your journey with God, I hope that you will continue to make your faith a priority, and continue to grow in the faith and learn about God and God’s plan for your life. You have a church home here at Glen Mar, and a whole slew of pastors, and teachers, and friends in faith that love you and are here for you. That’s what the church is all about.
See you In Church,
Pastor Mandy
