Shortly after our First Communion Retreat in the middle of March, I took some time out on the return trip to visit an old friend. Diane is currently a client at an assisted-living facility not far from the Village Camp of Imago Dei. We have known one another since childhood although, admittedly, this time has been interrupted by long spans of time in which we did not see one another. Another factor is that I can get around quite a bit better than Diane. You see, she has MS (multiple sclerosis). If you do not know what MS is, imagine if you will a sheath surrounding your spinal cord. A person with MS has a sheath that is either thinning or completely gone. The body loses its capacity to transmit nerve signals because of the damage to the sheath. Upon meeting her, any person might say that Diane is literally imprisoned in her wheel chair. She has great difficulty in moving just about any part of her body. The fingers of one hand do control the joystick of her wheelchair. She still is able to move her eyes, her mouth, though hers is obviously a very limited existence. Conversation can become a task and after a while, the visitor needs to understand that she needs a “break”. Are there times in your life in which you, too, feel that you need a “break”? You sense accurately that you have reached emotional, physical or spiritual thresholds and you simply need to stand aside for a bit. To know one’s limitations is not a weakness, but a strength. Jesus often took a brief trip to Bethany, a town not far from Jerusalem, where he would visit with his friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. As we reflect the Sonrise of Easter, how do we take time in our personal lives to heal and regroup to be stronger to do God’s will? How is your prayer life? Does your Bible get more activity than your newspaper or computer? We need to be continually vigilant in allowing the Spirit to enrich us with the power we so desperately need in order to share the love of Jesus. Diane would be insulted to hear that we might consider her ‘disabled’. She considers herself ‘differently-abled’. The fingers of the one hand make her computer-able. She has already written a novel and has published a book of poems. Diane has invited my family to her birthday party this summer where there will be clowns, a polka-band, barbecue and more. You can bet that we will be there. Interestingly enough, Diane does see herself as a prisoner in faith. She sees her Lord, grasping her, making her his own in Baptism. You may not have MS or another type of debilitating disease. Still, God does want you to know that, despite our childish rebelliousness and stubbornness which lead us to sin and cause us to run away from God, he is ready to forgive and claim his people. As you bask in the warmth of the Son in this Eastertide, may you always know the love that pursues you in a manner that we ourselves find so difficult to understand and yet which we know to be our only salvation. Serving Christ with You! Pastor Bill