FEBRUARY 2021 EDITION
THE WOODLANDS UMC
POINT 20/20 Grandparents provide a crucial anchor point for their grandchildren. A grandparent’s home is often the place and relationship outside of the nuclear home where a child learns of unconditional love and acceptance. That is the place where they learn they are special to somebody other than mom and dad. It is the place of storytelling. It is a place of play and a place not to take things too seriously. It is a place where values are formed. Wisdom is shared. And just maybe a disaster is prevented when you warn that little child about the dangers of owning a Dodge or Nissan. While a place of protection and boundaries, it is not necessarily a place of discipline. After all, we did our stint of that. Why should we be the ones to deny our children the joys of discipline? This past year my wife and I became grandparents. Many here at the church told me with a wink and twinkle in their eye that life begins at grandchildren. I understand that a little bit. I hope our future grandchildren never have to learn the lessons of this past year the way we have had to learn them. But it is likely they will. The truth is that this pandemic is relatively temporary in some ways. We must be vigilant in the future for such threats, but our mission has not changed in any way. We are still to win people to Christ—especially our children and grandchildren, disciple them in faith and help those in need. By the way, you would be comforted and even proud how the staff and members of your church reached out to those less fortunate in our county this past year. We learned hard lessons last year. And we were reminded that relationships are why we live. Also, Faith and Family is the only true legacy worth having. Or perhaps it is a Faithful Family. We have yearned to be in each other’s presence, but we were cautioned with the dangers. We wanted simple things like a family meal, but fear was an unwelcome intruder. Our kids and grandkids have this fear. And fear is a bad motivator. And on both sides of this spectrum, it seems to thrive. Fear tends to rob the future of hope. God’s remedy is His love (1 Peter 5:7; 1 John 4:18). Our job is simply to follow in kind. So, while there is no amount of social media that will beat a face to face conversation or embrace from a family member, I will take a video chat over nothing. There is love to convey to our family. Not a passive head nod but a courageous declaration that we will get through this and be stronger for it. Our grandchildren need it, and our legacy demands it. Stew Grant
A MESSAGE FROM
LEE BREWER
PASTOR TO SENIOR ADULTS
February is an unusual month. It is the shortest month of the year and marks the end of winter in the meteorological calendar. It has many names in other countries to mark the uniqueness of the time of year in which it falls. In Old English it was known as the “cabbage month” or the “mud month.” In Poland and Ukraine, it is known as the “month of hard frost.” More appealingly, it is known in Finnish as the “month of the pearl” because of the tendency for ice to melt during the day on leaves and refreeze at night to form “pearls.” It is also well known in much of the world as “Lee’s birthday month.” (Okay, maybe not so much the last one.) Our name for the month comes from the Roman designation of Februarius from the Latin word for purification, and that fits well with the beginning of our season of Lent that starts on February 17 this year. Lent is the time that the Christian Church and people prepare for Easter. It lasts for forty days in remembrance of Jesus fasting and praying in the wilderness for forty days as he prepared for his public ministry. Therefore, in response to Jesus’ example, Christians have traditionally set aside this time as one of personal preparation to more fully live out the Christian life that Jesus gave to us through his death and resurrection at Easter. Self-denial, fasting and daily devotional studies are the ways in which much of the Church strives to follow the example of Christ during this holy season. Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. The focus of Ash Wednesday is on our personal need for repentance. Jesus came to die upon the cross for our sins, and we are called to repent of our sins and acknowledge our need for God’s saving grace. The ashes that are marked upon our forehead remind us that our lives are fleeting and that today is the day to repent and believe. The words of Gen. 3:19 are repeated to focus our hearts and minds on the reality of our fragile existence: “for dust you are and to dust you will return.” As we enter the Lenten Season, may each of us turn our hearts and minds towards the message of the gospel and a new emphasis on living out our Christian faith. I hope that you will join us in person or online at our noon or evening service on Ash Wednesday to make this month a special one in our lives and in the Christian year. Remembering God’s grace,
WISHING YOU A HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY FROM SENIOR ADULT MINISTRY! Lee