A place to get warm

On Saturday evening our family hosted a campfire and hayride. The partiers were a group of junior high cross country runners from a neighboring school. They were an active and cheerful crew!

As we prepared for the evening, Tim and I kept repeating the refrain, "It sure is a cold evening for a party!" As a few adults joined us in waiting around the fire while kids played, we kept up the refrain, "It sure is a cold evening for a party!" But the partiers were oblivious to the cold. We reminded them to consider coats; they did not need them. They ran around and played games among the trees of our yard. They ate a hotdog and raced some more. They clambered onto the wagon for the hayride and we described them as kittens or puppies, making a pile of people on the floor of the wagon, those in the middle working their way out to the edges and then diving back into the center to get warm. Always in motion.

One of the most poignant moments of the evening came when a chaperone from the back of the wagon reported an overheard comment, "This is the first time in my life I have had friends from school." No wonder they enjoyed each other so. They were probably a bunch of individuals discovering the joy of friendship. For many of them it was for the first time. It was great fun to watch. They played, they ate, they played some more with never a prickly moment. Just a good time.

May the church be for you a place to get warm, a place to savor friendship and especially joy.

Blessings for your week,
Pastor Beth