“Mom, I think I have a problem with alcohol.” That was ten years ago. Those life-changing words confirmed why our family had been thrown into a condition of insanity and hopelessness. Our first-born child had become a victim of a disease over which we, as parents, had absolutely no control.
Our journey of faith and hope crystallized one October night at the Al-Anon meeting in the library at Lord of Life and our daughter’s miracle of sobriety began seven years ago at AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) in the fellowship hall. Al-Anon is a gathering where friends and families of problem drinkers find understanding and support. Alcoholics Anonymous is an international fellowship of men and women who want to do something about their drinking problem. This past Sunday, our daughter and her husband celebrated their first wedding anniversary! God is good! I shared that miracle with Pastor Lowell as I left church and it hung on his heart. He wondered if I’d share a bit of my journey of faith at LOL – “Why Lord of Life?”
I struggled with my faith through my teen years. Life and family circumstances sometimes made it difficult to trust that God loved me. I “walked away” from God and the church where I’d been baptized and confirmed in my teens after my dad took his own life due to depression aggravated by tinnitus. “How could the God my parents and I worshipped, trusted, and loved become so heartless?”
I subsequently played the devil’s advocate throughout much of my late teens and early twenties, arguing against God and his love. God stayed with me, despite my chosen estrangement from him.
Eventually I met and married my best friend, John Baird, and God blessed us with our first-born child. On the day she was born, we both looked at her and then each other, struck with a profound sense of how good God really is. We sought a church home and found one, courtesy of our friends, Donna and Gary Aufranc, who suggested we check out their church, Immanuel Lutheran, in Hamilton.
After attending adult information classes, we joined, had our daughter baptized, and two years later, celebrated our second daughter’s baptism. Both of our girls were confirmed there and we became active servants and participants in Bible study and the life of our congregation. I taught at the school our church operated. Eventually, I taught at St. Peter in Chains Catholic School in Hamilton, and my faith took on more ecumenical dimensions.
Fast forward... Retirement, friends, and our faith journey motivated us to seek a new church home. Little did I suspect that sitting in the library nearly every Sunday night for ten years would eventually lead to worship and membership here. “Why Lord of Life?” There is solidarity here. There’s an enthusiasm for God and the love He has for us. Our pastors’ enthusiasm for welcoming all God’s people and meeting them where they are is winsome and encouraging. The outreach provided to people in need is vital and alive here. My husband and I were beneficiaries of that outreach ten years ago, and we look forward to a continuing partnership in ministry with the body of Christ here... One day at a time!
Lynn Baird