Pilgrims' Home

I woke up on Sunday morning and following my completion of Wordle in a miraculous three tries, I did my morning scroll through Twitter and Facebook. #DontJudgeMeItsAStressfulTime. For some reason, there was a deluge of tweets lamenting the hurt of the church and an empathetic invitation for those whose church trauma keeps them from attending worship. I switched to Facebook and noticed an update from Lindsay regarding Madeline. There were more than 50 comments from friends, mostly people we know from our years pastoring and teaching.  I am grateful for the church these days. By church I mean all those who confess Jesus and who  seek  to love God and neighbor.  Seeking  to do this is enough. Christianity is a practice more than a completion. Jesus is not Yoda, "do or do not, there is no try." Jesus is gracious and hospitable and forgiving. So we seek to imitate Christ and often fall short. But lately, the seeking has been a fulfillment. When I read the comments on Lindsay's

I love learning new words and expanding knowledge through language. But today I learned two new words and responded with a more familiar word. The familiar word is less popular with my more Christian friends, and the new words seem largely foreign to all of my friends, regardless of religious affiliation. We have considered posting an update on Madeline many times since mid-January but we are too tired to do so. Madeline made it through the surgery and returned to home, but the transition has been more difficult than we expected. She still struggles with headaches and stomach pains. Swallowing continues to be a traumatic experience, and she fights between being a hungry adolescent and the embarrassing act of public choking and coughing. We spend portions of each week visiting OT, PT, a therapist, and multiple other healthcare professionals. [I continue to grow compassion for others' who have faced chronic health challenges and the multitude of cancer survivors (who have appointment