Anne Lamott tells a story about a little girl who got lost one day, she ran up and down the streets of the big town where they lived, but she couldn’t find a single landmark. She was very frightened. Finally a policeman stopped to help her. He put her in the passenger seat of his car, and they drove around until she finally saw her church. She pointed it out to the policeman, and then she told him firmly, “You can let me out now. This is my church, and I can always find my way home from here.”
And Anne Lamott says, “And that is why I have stayed so close to (my church) – because no matter how bad I am feeling, how lost or lonely or frightened, when I see the faces of the people at my church, and hear their tawny voices, I can always find my way home.”
We are a funny little group of people, connected by God to be the body of Christ in this world. In a world that is stuck in a whirlwind of busyness, that is lost and doesn’t even know it, in a world that is wondering “what’s that Christianity stuff all about,” “what does the church even have to offer?” We have ourselves to offer, this beloved community. I’ve seen it in action and I’ve been blessed because of it. This week be God’s beloved community in this world, love and care for one another, and guide each other home.