NEW LIFE

NEW LIFE...................................................................2-3 BIBLE 101: THE TRUE VINE......................................4-5 community life / First communion............... 6-7 COMMUNITY garden & APPLE ORCHARD ........... 8-9 creation care ministry.................................. 10-11 COntact Us .................................................................11

by Lori Buegler (lorib@lordoflife.org)

Earlier this summer, my husband Todd and I drove our oldest son Nathan to Fort Collins, Colorado, so that he could serve as a Sky Ranch Bible Camp counselor. Last summer the Cameron Peak Fire burned 208,913 acres of mountain forest; Sky Ranch had to be evacuated. While some outlying parts of the camp were destroyed, most of the camp’s buildings were saved. Driving up the mountain and walking around camp, we were struck by the devastation. Wide swaths of burned trees, bare trunks sticking up into the sky, land filled with black soot and ash.

And yet, when you looked closely, you could already see beginnings of new life. Green grass poking through darkened ground, small trees receiving more sunshine than before, resulting in quick growth. Despite the loss and majesty of the old fully grown trees, beauty also lies in the newness and promise of what is to come. We all know the “circle of life” well and see it lived out in our day-to-day lives. Spring elicits buds and shoots bursting forth from the trees and ground, summer produces fabulous growth, autumn gives a bountiful harvest, and winter leads to dormancy and waiting. And so we may take creation for granted. Plants grow and thrive, wilt and die. Grow and thrive, wilt and die. Until a disruption occurs. Drought. Flood. Heat wave. Deep freeze. Or a forest fire. And so it can be with our faith. At times we may hum along with expected valleys and peaks along our journey of life. And then something devastating happens! A death. A diagnosis. A disillusionment. It stops us in our tracks and makes us wonder, how we will move forward?

But just like the forest recovers after a fire, so too we can find a strengthening of faith through difficult challenges. It may seem like all we see is soot and ash, the remains of what used to be. As we look closer, though, we can see green starting to peek through. When we even look closer, we see the empty cross. A symbol of resurrection. In John 12:24, Jesus tells his followers that “…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Forest fires are a time of death. And, they are a time of resurrection. The wooden baptismal font (shown near the cross and altar) suffered severe burns around the base. What a beautiful image that is—new life in Christ out of flames and sorrow! So it is with our lives. We experience death daily. Every single day we lose something. But every single day— because of God’s great love—we experience new life, resurrection, and joy.