A Surprise on Sunday morning.

 The morning started as it does each week. Bible study, worship and ready for the rest of the day. Arriving for church on Sunday morning, the tables were still set up for Clythia Brown's funeral lunch. Dave B. and I took the time to reset the tables for Bible study. Judy H. asked if we were supposed to do that. I did not understand what she was meaning. Of course we were. It was time for Bible study so we set the tables up like the were meant to be, as they were each week. There was going to be a Henke family thing, I was told. OK. But we still have Bible study. Normal morning.

The family was present as we moved Shirley Rex, Penny's mother, to Clarinda. Claud and Jim were there. Rach, Matthew and Chelsey were also there. So great being able to worship with the family. Having mom here will be great being able to worship with her. So the morning was normal. I could smell the food being cooked for the event taking place. I didn't think anything about it. I was enjoying spending time worshiping with the St. John family. It is good to be here.

As the service ended, folks were leavning. Only they weren't I did not realize it but they were heading downstairs. I was greeting folks and they were leaving, so I thought. But they weren't. They were heading down for a party. What party? I didn't even see it happening. The kids came out, and we were going to the local Chinese rest. for lunch. They were going to go get a table. That made perfect sense, considering there was 12 of us and they don't have a lot of big tables. Another piece of the puzzle.

Penny was looking for me. I was doing my normal stuff. I wanted to check to see who someone was, if they signed the friendship register. Talked with Casey about it. He helped me figure out who it was. Penny and I headed down to get our things from the office and head to lunch. I figured mom must have been with Claud and Jim, since they brought her to church. 

One last thing, Penny says. You need to go downstairs. OK, I said. And I didn't even think about it. As we walked downstairs, I asked what the folks were doing down there. Then I found out. It was a surprise party that Penny had been planning for the last month. I was completely surprised. I had no idea that it was taking place. No idea at all. 

I was overwhelmed. I cannot express my appreciated for the outpouring of love that was shown . I guess it isn't so bad turning 60 years old. I can say that. Instead of the 21 anniversary of my 39th birthday, it is my 60th birthday. The Lord has blessed me.

I want to thank Penny, Rach, Matt, Chelsey for the surprise. I thank the various members of the congregaiton who worked with Penny - Sandy, Jackie, Jessica, Judy, and a whole host of other people. I thank all of you who were able to come and celebrate with me. I thank those of you who weren't able to make it but sent your best wishes in a variety of ways. I want to thank my St. John family for this outpouring of love. 

And I thank the Lord for bringing me to this point of my life. He has blessed me day after day. He is with me in all that goes on. And He is the One who brought me here. Thank You, dear Lord. Thank you.

Now, I move into this new week, with a new feeling of love, and friendship. I am hoping I can return that love to all. 

A little rambling

All right, I have to face it. It doesn't seem like it could be possible, but it is. When I think about it, I am not sure how real it is, but then I look at the facts, and I know that it is true. I am now 60 years old. I have been alive for 60 years. That is amazing to me. I know that for those of you who have more years under your belt than that will say, "I would love to be 60 again." I had someone say the other day that they would love to go back and be 60 again. That is interesting. I know that when I look back at different ages, 20, 30, 40, or 50, I don't think I would want to go back and redo those years. Why? I would probably make more mistakes than I did originally. I would try to outsmart myself and cause myself more issues than I did when I was living those years. I look back at the things that were going on in those years, and I give thanks to God for the life that I had then. I rejoice that I have had the experiences that I have had to make it to this age. 

Sixty years is a lot of years. I look at that number and realize that it really is amazing. I look at the way the Lord has taken me through the years, and all of that has made me the person that I am today. I have been with Penny since I was 17. We started dating in high school. And now, here we are, 42 years later, still together, still in love, still wouldn't want to spend our lives with anyone else. I say "we" here because we both feel this way. She has been the love of my life, and when I say that, I really do mean it. Out of 60 years of life, she has been a part of it for 42 years, married to me for 37 years, putting up with me in the good times and bad times, in happy days and grumpy days. What a blessing it is that the Lord has given to me. She truly is my heart and my life. The only one that comes before her is my Lord Jesus Christ. And it is that love of Jesus that makes it possible for me to love her.

I look at it and realize how blessed I am to have two wonderful children, both of whom are in their realy 30s. They have been with me for half my life. That too is amazing. God has blessed me with two wonderful children, with two great in-law children. I am so blessed. I don't know what I have done to be so blessed. And then I realize, it has nothing to do with what I have done. They are blessings given by my Lord Jesus Christ without any merit on my part. 

So here I sit, thinking about having been alive for 60 years. I look back upon those years. I reflect on the blessings that the Lord has given to me. I rejoice at the way He has watched over me in more ways than I could every have asked. I thank the Lord for what He has done for me. I praise His name as I find myself with knew knees, new vision, and the same body. I look at life and know that the Lord is good to me, and so I thank the Lord, for giving me the things I need, the sun and the rain and the 60 years! Amen.

One day later, 20 years later.

 Apple butter. It was cooked and canned. The kettles were cleaned. The fires were out. But in New York City, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, PA, the fires continued. The smoke filled the air. Death. Destruction. Horror. The nation sat in shock, having watched over and over again, the planes, the towers, the collapse and the outcome. 

I remember that time. I had to quit watching the news reports. It finally was overload. I had to shut the news off. Enough was enough. It wasn't that I did not care. It was emotionally overwhelming. 

Yet on the next day, 9/12, there was a sense of unity in the country. People standing together. That part I did not need to turn off. To see politicans standing shoulder to shoulder, Republican, Democrat, Independent. All standing there in support of the United States of America. There was community after community coming together, supporting the nation, singing the Star Spangled Banner, waving the flag.

More than that, they began to pray. People were praying. Over and over again, people lifted up their hearts in prayer. They turned to the Lord. They asked Him for strength, for comfort, for healing, for help. Soon, wherever you went, you would see signs saying "Pray for America." Churches opened their doors, and people came. Special services were held, and people came. It did not matter what day of the week or what time of the day, when a church had a special prayer service, people came. They prayed. They turned to the only One who was their Rock, their strength.

Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its water roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. This became the word that gave people comfort. I thought of the hymn, "A Mighty Fortress." Indeed, God is our very present help in trouble. On 9/12, and the days following, this really became real for many people They saw the Lord as the One who could bring them comfort and help in this time of national tragedy. 

I look at this and know that the Lord is my comfort, my strength, my help in everything that goes on in my life. Not just on 9/11 and 9/12, but every day. Each day, I trust in the Lord. Living in a broken world, a world where pain and suffering is a reality, it is only the Lord that can guide me through each day. That is why I praise His name. I look to the cross of Jesus Christ, I look at the empty tomb, and I know, Jesus is the Victor. He has defeated our greatest enemies, sin, death and the power of the devil. He has overcome my fears. He has defeated my enemies. 

In His hand I live. In God I trust. He alone is my Savior, my strength, my comfort. I praise His name.

Last thoughts on 9/11.

 It was the strangest thing being back at Bethlehem, Ferrin, IL on that Tuesday, 9/11/2001. The day was beautiful, clear blue sky, light winds, the kind of early fall day that you just love. The smell of smoke and cooking apples filled the air. Folks were sitting around talking. Some were standing and stirring the apples with the paddles - it had to be in the figure 8, because that is how you stirred the great copper kettles filled with apples cooking down for apple butter. It should have been a festive day.

But something had happened that changed that. The planes were hijacked, and flown into the two towers of the World Trade Center, into the Pentagon and crashed in the field in Pennsylvania. What else could happen? The twin towers had collapsed, filling New York City with grime and dust. People were dead. People in the buildings. People in the planes. People who were first reponders. Shock. Horror. Sadness. All of that filled the hearts of the cookers.

The sky that was clear, was quiet. Not a sound. No planes going over. No jet streams filling the air. All planes were grounded. Being where we were, jets were going over regularly, either taking off from St. Louis, MO or landing in St. Louis. We heard planes regularly. Now, it was quiet. The wind even died down. It was quiet. Eerily quiet. It is hard to describe. If you don't know what it is like to have the sound of jets going over regularly and then don't have it, you miss it. You know something is wrong. And something was wrong. Death had come calling. 

How do you respond to that? The very way that the Christian responds to any crisis. You turn to the Lord. You pray. You talk about it. You support each other. You remind each other about the wonderf of the life that Jesus gives. You tell each other that Jesus is our fortress and our bulwark. You think of the hymn "A Mighty Fortress." You know that Jesus is still in control. In your shock, you turn your eyes from the TV screen which is showing the images of death and destruction over and over again, to the image of Jesus Christ coming out of the tomb, robes white, fluttering in the morning breeze, hands and feet marked with the place where the nails were. You look at the living Lord and know that no matter what else would take place, Jesus was the One you can rely upon and find comfort and preace in. Only in Jesus could the images of the day be washed away. 

And so, that is what we did. We let the love of Christ wash over us as we sat in the middle of the country, praying for those who were injured and for those who lost loved ones. Praying for the Lord to come into our country and work a revival, to bring us to look from our pain to look to Him. We prayed. We trusted. And we knew - in Christ, no matter what happened, we would be all right. Even if there were more attacks, the Lord was there. He would be with those suffering, those dieing. He always there, no matter what.

What did I learn that day? To trust not in man but to trust in the Lord alone. He alone can get you through a national crisis or a personal crisis. He alone is our strength, our hope and our Savior. That day solidfied the fact that no matter what, Jesus is our Good Shepherd, leading us through the valley of the shadow of death to our eternal home. 

That has never changed. 

9/11 reflection part 3

 ...the sun was shining. The sky was a beautiful blue that comes with fall. It was going to be a great day. The folks at Bethlehem, Ferrin, IL were cooking applebutter. The smell of smoke filled the air. They were standing outside, stirring the kettles as the apples were cooking down. Yes, the day had begun as any other day. Penny was teaching at the Ferrin preschool. I was at Trinity, Hoffman, IL school, teaching the 7/8 grade confirmation class. Rach and Matthew were in school like they were supposed to be. 

But the planes had crashed into the Towers. Shock. The plane had crashed into the Pentagon. More shock. What are you supposed to do? What are you supposed to say? 

And then it happens. The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. It just collapsed! Watching the TV at Hoffman, we were shocked. It was shown over and over again. It was surreal. Who would have thought such a thing would have happened? How could it have happened? What was next? Still at Hoffman, there was a sense of unknown running through the building. The older children were amazed at what they saw. The younger ones only knew that the adults and older kids were talking about something terrible happening. 

Then the plane in Pennsylvania crashed. What happened? Was it a part of the plan to attack America? Did anyone survive? Still so many unknowns. At 9:30 central time, the North Tower collapsed. What? What was this? Did anyone survive? What about all those first responders that had gone to help out? What happened to them. Clouds of smoke and dust. People filled with fear. 

What do you do? We did what every Christian should do. We gathered the children together in the library. I talked with the children and staff about what happened. I pointed out that the Lord was still with us. He was still the One we could trust. We looked to the One who is always with us in the midst of the struggles of this life. It was overwhelming but we have a God who is greater than anything that has taken place in this world. We sang. We prayed. We looked to the God who is always with us, the God who was with all those who were in the planes and in the Towers and in each of those situations. Looking to God, there is hope, strength and comfort. He is our stronghold in times of trouble. We were looking to God as we shold each day.

After a little longer at the school, I headed back to Ferrin. My mind was swirling. I needed to talk with Penny. I needed to be where it was "normal." The 7 miles seemed so long. The sky was still clear. The sky was still blue. The air was still wonderful pure, for us. In New York City, in Washington DC and in Pennsylvania the air wasn't so clear. Trusting in the Lord, I arrived back home.

There were the people, the fires, the kettles and yet, things were much more subdued. They had heard. Remember that things were not like they are 20 years later where we have instant news. But they knew. You could see it on their faces. I spoke to them as I walked to the school building. There, I found Penny teaching the children. But you could tell that she knew what had happened. As the children were busy doing something (not sure what it was), we talked, hugged and knew that the Lord was with us just as He was always. Praise be to God for the assurance of that the message of the gospel brings.

How did the rest of the day go? Tomorrow, I will talk about that. At this time, I reflect on it, and I know, the same God is still with us, still watching over us, still loving us and still caring for us. The world might have changed, but our God has not! Praise be to God.

9/11 reflection 20 years later, pt. 2

 ...as I walked into the school building at Trinity Lutheran Church, Hoffman, IL, on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, we were met with people saying that a plane had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. I had two thoughts: 1) what is the World Trade Center? and 2) how could such an accident happen? I had no clue about New York City. Penny and I had never been to New York, so we knew nothing about the city. I imagine there were a lot of people who were just like me. They had no clue what the Towers were. Now we know for sure what they were and what this meant. That day, it was a big question mark.

The other thing is that I did not understand what had happened. I thought it must have been a small plane, maybe a single engine plane that someone had accidently flown into the building. Maybe the person was flying around New York City and got confused and hit a building. What a terrible accident. 

As I talked with other parents and teachers at Trinity, folks told me that it was a jet liner, a big plane. They were beginning to think that it might have been on purpose, not an accident. That boggled the mind. Why would anyone do that? Why would anyone fly a plane into a building? I wasn't thinking terrorism. I wasn't thinking that the country was under attack. I was thinking about accidents and how terrible that accident must have been. 

After spending the 10-15 minutes before class talking with others about what happened, I headed into the classroom to begin teaching confirmation class. Memory work - don't remember what it was. Lesson - don't remember what that was. But I remember when the secretary, Rita, came to the door and called me over. A second plane had crashed into the other tower. They are thinking it is an attack on the nation. We were in shock. How could this happen? Why would it happen? We were America. We helped everyone. Why would anyone attack us? 

A TV was rolled into the hallway (this was before every classroom had tvs). It was turned on, and we watched in horror as they replayed the scene of the second plane crashing into the south tower. Then they had video of the first plane crashing into the north tower. Smoke filling the air. We were in shock. We were watching the video, not knowing what was coming.

How could anyone know what was coming? After all, this is not something that we had even thought about happening. We talked about it. We watched. Then we tried to get the class back together. It was not easy, because the kids, the teachers, everyone wanted to talk about what happened. Then there was a report of another plane crashing into the Pentegon. Wow! This was getting to be too much. It was shocking. It was more than anyone could have expected.

The day had begun so peaceful. Isn't that the way it is? The day starts normal and then something happens to change that. It is like that when a day begins and someone has an accident, a heart attack, a sickness, a sudden death, something awful that takes place. Days change in a moment. Most of the time, it is personal, on a family level, sometimes it might effect a community, but nothing had the impact on the entire nation as that morning did on 9/11. The whole nation was in shock. People were starting to wonder, what was going to happen next. There was lots of talk. Who was safe? Were other planes hijacked? Were there going to more places attacked? Were there going to be more deaths?

We did not know what was still to come. We thought perhaps the worst was over. But, little did we know...

Reflecting on 20 years ago.

 The week begins. This is a different week. It is a time to reflect back 20 years. Saturday will be the 20th anniversary of 9/11. I think I will reflect back upon that time and the changes that have been made since then. 

The week began like every week. The kids were back in school. The weather was typical fall weather. Sunday and Monday were days that went like it did every year. Penny and I and the kids were living in Ferrin, IL. I was serving Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ferrin. It is a small town, about 50 people. We had the church, with the school building (that had closed in the 70s and we had reopened with a preschool), the elevator, fire station and then the houses. It was a great place to raise a family. Just across the street from our house, which was the parsonage next to the church, was the dairy farm. We loved hearing the cows lowing, and smell the sweetness of the silage. Yes, there was the issue of flies and the smell of that which the cows leave behind, but it was a good place to live and minister. The kids loved it there. They could play in town without us worrying about what was going to happen to them. They enjoyed their life in Ferrin. We did too.

That week was special. It was the first cooking of apple butter. Now if you don't know what that means, it was a special time. There would be 5 big copper kettles of apple butter cooked. I don't remember how many apples it took. Members would get together, sit in the church garage, and sit around in a circle, peeling and coring the apples. There would be those with the apple peelers, spinning the apples around, putting them in buckets, only to have the others core them and place them in other buckets. It felt like a celebration to spend that time with the folks. So Sunday and Monday were spent getting things ready. It wasn't cold. You could sit around without a jacket. That would change the next week for the second cooking. It was amazing that in one week the weather would change in that one week. It cooled down and felt like fall.

But that week started clear and warm. Monday the kids went to school. Penny was helping in the preschool. Little ones came and went. It was a joyous time. We lived close enough to St. Louis that you could hear the planes coming in to land in town. It was about 1 1/2 hours from St. Louis. So they were still high enough that you couldn't make out what type of plane or airline it was, but you could hear them going over regularly. 

Tuesday morning came with all the joy of apple butter cooking. The folks showed up at sunrise, to gather the wood together, and the fires were started under the frames for the copper kettles. Five kettles, each owned by  different families. After the fires were started, the kettles would be put in place, filled with apples, water would be added and the day would begin. It was fun. 

The kids would go out before school and join with the folks that were cooking. They would laugh and talk with the folks. Someone would bring donuts, and we would all enjoy a donut. The smell of smoke filled the air. It was a pleasant smell. One that brings back such memories even now. The sun was rising. The sky was clear. Soon the blueness of the sky really show itself. A calm day. It was going to be a warm day. OK, it was hot for September. No need for jackets. As the sun rose higher and the day went on, it would feel downright hot. 

Time came to take the kids to school. I was helping out at Trinity Lutheran School, Hoffman, IL as they were vacant. The kids went there for school. Lutheran education is wonderful. I was teaching the 7/8 grade confirmation class at the time, all during the school year, as they would get a pastor at the end of the school year. So we packed up, and headed for school, 7 miles away. A wonderful drive through the country with Rach and Matt. Penny was teaching in the Preschool at Ferrin. So she was over with the children in Ferrin and we were in Hoffman. 

Because of apple butter cooking, we didn't spend any time with the news. So as we arrived at Hoffman, a 10 minute drive/parking/entry into the school. As we walked into the school, someone said, "A plane has hit a building in New York City. It was the World Trade Center." I didn't know what the towers were. It must have been an accident. How terrible. We talked a little about it. But none of us knew what was going on. A plane had hit a building. There was smoke, fire, the unknown. 

Then I went into the classroom and began to teach confirmation. 

To be continued...