Camels have settled my heart and mind in the tumultuous beginning of 2022. The despair of the new COVID surge, the discourse in our country, the weight of the work needed to be done to right injustice, along with my mom passing away at Christmas seemed an overwhelming start to the new year.

I consider myself a “glass is half full” kind of person, so for me to feel such despair was surprising. How do I get past this? How do I keep this grief for our world and missing my mom from being all-consuming? 

As with countless things, it takes the Holy Spirit connecting the points of light and breathing life-giving hope when you can’t see it for yourself. My beacon, interesting enough, was in one of God’s amazing and unique creations, a camel. 

I know you were still thinking, camels? It wasn’t a typo. Camels can stink, be messy, and mean but they can also deliver us home in an unforgiving desert. I experienced God in camels three times in the past few days that had me reflecting on my sadness.

As I was preparing to teach our LOL preschoolers at our monthly chapel time, I was thinking of ways to engage them in the story in the Spark Story Bible of the Three Wise Men who followed the star. Connection through all their senses is always key. I decided we were going to ride our camels throughout the sanctuary as we followed the star to find baby Jesus. 

A few days later, I received photos from my daughter, who is deployed in Iraq, of her interactions with camels in the desert. I shared those photos with my family. My brother sent a photo back of my dad riding a camel on my parent’s trip to the Holy Land with their church over 30 years ago.

I hadn’t remembered that photo. My dad is waving and smiling while on the camel and my first thought was that he was saying, “Hey don’t forget, mom is with me now. She is safe and at peace. We are on our next adventure.” These camels in my life allowed me to reflect on the goodness that is still surrounding me even in the face of these uncertain times and sadness. Wonderful memories of the trip that my parents experienced together. My daughter may be serving in Iraq, but there is enough peace in the region for her to safely engage in some of the culture and see the amazingly beautiful country. Then there are the preschoolers shouting with innocence and joy at the sighting of the star as they rode their camels. After we had ridden to our seats, one of the first things we do at Chapel is to light a candle and declare together, “Jesus is the light of the world.” Such a soul-lifting gift to share this message together especially during this time.

Life can be messy, mean, and even stinky but we are seen and held by our Savior who will carry us through our despair. I know my emotions will be up and down in the coming weeks and the grief will come in waves but John 16:33 reminds me, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you may have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”   

Who or what might the Holy Spirit be drawing you to as your beacon of hope?

Some of the beautiful qualities about my mom is that she truly appreciated nature, loved to learn, and delighted in the small details of life. I am going to try to carry on that spirit of reflecting on the goodness of all of God’s creations. I also know if she were reading this, I would soon find interesting articles and fun facts about camels in my e-mail or mailbox. There is always something more to learn.

God’s peace always,

Angie Seiller

Director of Faith Formation

New Year’s Eve day was warm and dry, so Otto and I headed to a local trail for an end-of-the-year hike. While we walked, I thanked God for all the good things of 2021 and wished a speedy farewell to all the sorrow and mess of the past year.

Pivot. Restrictions. Shutdown. Face coverings. Protocols. I hoped that they would all be behind us. I didn’t think that we would still be using these words and adapting our actions to COVID-19 almost two years into this pandemic, but here we are.

This past Wednesday afternoon, after much discussion, analysis, and prayer, we sent an email and posted it on social media saying, “Lord of Life is suspending in-person worship for January 9 and 16.” If you haven’t seen it, yet, it is available on our website; you can read all about our next couple of weeks together while physically apart.

This step backward makes me sad. It has been so nourishing to our faith community, as well as my own heart and soul, to be back together for worship moments, greet each other during the week when you drop by the office for a conversation or to pick up resources, and to feel the growing momentum as we return to church life after an extended period of isolation and physical distancing.

I am grateful that we have compassionate church leaders and a congregation who are willing to take this step and put our faith into action. This is one way that we can bring relief to exhausted and overwhelmed hospital staff, while also keeping our neighbors and selves healthy. Thank you. We know that it is the right thing to do, even if it stinks.

As my dog and I walked, I was also grateful for canine pardon. One of the great gifts of my dog is that he easily forgives me. When I’m crabby, he doesn’t hold a grudge. If we have a frustrating morning together, he is still eager to greet me when I come home. Forget a treat? He's happy if I just double up next time. In his mind, “It’s all good!” I once saw a bumper sticker that declared,

“Help me be the person that my dog thinks I am.” Oh, that it were that easy.

On this Epiphany day, January 6, we remember the magi traveling to meet and worship Jesus as king. Shane Claiborne describes Epiphany as, “a season when we see Jesus’ divine mission revealed when the magi visit him and we remember his baptism, miracle, ministry, and his call for us to follow.”

Today, we also remember the terror and trauma of last January 6. It was a day of confusion and fright at the Capitol, leaving property and people damaged and destroyed, as well as at least seven people dead who were connected to the chaos of the day.

Turning the page to 2022, we want a clean slate for our lives and the world. We are eager to leave the regret and grief of the last twelve months behind and start afresh. But we all can’t live like Otto. Even as we work towards forgiveness and reconciliation, Jesus fuels us for faith in action. Romans 12 talks about what that love in action looks like.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves ...

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn … If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Jesus, help me be the person that you know I can be.

I thank God for you,

Pastor Lowell

It’s been another unprecedented year! We are so grateful for the ingenuity and adaptability that you have shown that allowed us to serve our neighbors and participate in life and ministry at Lord of Life throughout the past year.

We thank God for each of you and the numerous ways that you generously share your lives for God’s mission here, in our community, and throughout the world. Thank you also for your Christmas gifts.

As we jump into a new year of moving forward in faith, we pray that the Spirit of God will continue to bring us health, joy, and peace as we remain rooted in the promises of Jesus.

The Lord of Life Staff

My brother recently posted this photo of us with our Advent wreath. His caption, “My love of these Advent days was formed at our kitchen table with nightly devotions, as well as a regular fight about who would light or blow out the candles.” While we might have bickered about the blowing out of the candle, the feeling I had when I saw the photo was just joy. While life was simpler in those early days, the blessing of this time together was evident.

 The candle in the third week of Advent represents joy. All candles in an Advent wreath are now blue to represent our hope-filled faith. The blue also depicts the color before the sun rises at dawn.

Joy can be found in the days before Christmas with the lights, decorations, homemade goodies, and preparations for giving. But it can also be elusive as we rush through our busy lives or face frustrations due to life circumstances. The woman at the Wendy’s drive-through lamented to me that it was going to be a long night because their truck had not come with supplies. She had already been yelled at because they were out of ketchup packets to go with the chicken nuggets. How could it be that ketchup packets were the thief of a person’s joy?

My heart sank for both people. No one should be yelled at for not having ketchup and how hard is the person’s life that felt they needed to shout over ketchup? Was it a parent who was stressed after a long day, no time to make dinner, and their child only eats chicken nuggets with ketchup? Someone whose life was full of sadness or disappointment, and this was the last straw?

In a recent Welcome Table devotion, Kendall Grubb talks about experiencing joy as one of the most fragile emotions. When we know the fullness of joy, we are also opening ourselves to experience sadness, frustration, and loss. Life is a balance of emotions.

How comforting to know that God sent Jesus to experience the fullness of humankind which encompasses the entirety of emotions. When we are willing to open our lives and hearts to live freely among God’s people in this Advent season and beyond, there will be sorrow but there will also be great joy.

I left the drive-through laughing with the Wendy’s worker and we both agreed to pray for each other. You could tell she already had the joy of Jesus back in her heart. My added prayers now and past this week in Advent are that those who are experiencing frustration, sadness, or loss can see through to the small joys that are reflected in the light and life of Jesus. That the blowing out of the Advent candles is not a loss when it’s not your turn, but a joy found in family and community sharing God’s presence in the hope, peace, joy, and love found in the glow of the Advent season.

Note: If my brother Brad is reading this, I was blowing out the candle because the favorite child always gets to do it.

Angie Seiller

Director of Faith Formation

What is Advent for you? For some, Advent and Christmas are virtually synonymous as houses are decorated in Christmas themes and Christmas music plays. For others, it is marked by small festivities like Advent calendars filled with chocolates. For me, Advent has always been a nice break from the business of the Christmas season- a reason to find time to meditate and hopefully find some peace amidst the hustle that is preparation for Christmas. 

It is also, of course, the season of anticipation for Christ’s birth, as Christ will be born on Christmas Day. But what I and others often forget or overlook is that the anticipation of Advent has dual reasons. We are not simply waiting for Christ's birth on Christmas Day, but are anticipating the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Now, I know. It’s easier to anticipate the birth of Christ. That will for sure occur on Christmas Day as a remembrance that God is with us in Jesus Christ. In regards to the second coming, Advent calendars do not make sense as no one knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36). Rather, in the season of Advent, our anticipation for Christ's birth, and anticipation for the second coming of Jesus are intertwined.

As I’ve mentioned before, in the Advent season we dwell in our longings. In our Sunday Advent worship we have been longing for hope, peace, love and joy as we look out into our world and do not always see hope, peace, love, and joy. Through this, we reflect on our need for Christ to be with us, particularly in our broken world and broken selves. We are not only hopeful for Christ's birth, but Christ's return, in which all flesh will see the salvation of God, and all things will be made whole (Luke 3:6, Acts 3:21).

Perhaps, make a journal entry on what in your life gives reason to need Jesus? What needs restoration? What are your hopes? What does peace look like to you? What is love that reminds you of God? What moments give you joy? Answering these questions will set our eyes onto Christ, as we anticipate his birth on Christmas Day, and place our faith in the promise that Christ will come again and make all things new (Revelation 21:5).

And when you’re done writing, take comfort in the knowledge that the God who makes all things new is near, as the God of the Magnificat (Song of Mary), “for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.” . . . “and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things” will be born on Christmas Day. And as we wait for his return, “His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven” is a promise for then and now.

Your Sibling in Christ,

Pastor Alec Brock, Seminary Intern (he/him/his)