THE WOODLANDS UMC
MAY 2021 EDITION
POINT WHERE IS HOME Written by: Daniel Lumpee
“Daddy, where is home?” Our 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter Graysen asked me this question back in October when we first arrived in The Woodlands. It was her way of expressing confusion, excitement, maybe a touch of sadness, about arriving in a new city and living in a new house. She understood that we no longer lived in College Station, that she would not be able to see her friends every day, but that a new home meant a new playroom and even a playground in the backyard. A new city meant new adventures, but it still did not feel like home. That was eight months ago. Now, Graysen feels right at home. She’s made friends at school, played in a soccer league, and is enjoying The Woodlands as much as we are. Our youngest daughter Camryn especially loves watching the squirrels jump through the trees. My wife Alex and I have loved getting involved in our church and meeting so many of you. But I’ve thought often about that question, “where is home?” It’s a question I’ve asked myself, and maybe you have too. What does it mean to be home? Is it a place with walls and a roof where memories are made, or is it something more than that? Although my family and I love being residents of South Montgomery County, I know that this place is not our home. Sure, we have a mortgage, pay our property taxes, and our mail comes to our address, but we will not live here forever. Our citizenship is not in The Woodlands or Texas or even the United States. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:20 that we are “citizens of heaven.” We may live on earth for 70, 80, 90 years, but this place is not our home. Heaven is. That gives me hope. When I look around at our world, with so much chaos, violence, hatred, the ever-present threat of Coronavirus—this place doesn’t feel like home. I read the newspaper each morning and usually find myself despairing at what is happening all around us. How can this be what we’re designed for? One of my favorite quotes is from the great C.S. Lewis, who once said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” Or maybe you prefer the words of the legendary Bill Gaither: Going home, I’m going home There is nothing to hold me here I’ve caught a glimpse of that Heavenly land Praise God, I’m going home. Where is home? Our home is in that Heavenly land. For a while, we’ll pass through this earth. We’ll experience the good gifts of family and beauty and community. But for those of us in Christ Jesus, we must remember that the home we build here is just a foretaste of glory divine.
A MESSAGE FROM
LEE BREWER
PASTOR TO SENIOR ADULTS
There are a couple of interesting facts about May. First, no other month in any year begins or ends on the same day of the week as May. (There is some serious trivia for you!) Secondly, May is officially “Older Adults Month” in the United States. That has a nice ring to it for those of us who will always consider “senior” adults to be someone at least ten years older than we are! May is also the beginning of summer, the time when gardens grow and we delight in the fruits and vegetables we harvest from our own little plots or buy from the farmer’s markets that are filled with the bounty of the season. For many of us we savor the taste of tomatoes that actually taste like a tomato again! Summer is a time of abundance. For us as Christians, every month of the year should be like May: a season of fruitfulness. In John 15:16 Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last . . .” When we are truly connected to Christ who is the vine, we are branches that cannot help but be fruitful. Every day we can bring forth the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When I look at the fruits of the Spirit, I see a guide to becoming the kind of person not only that God desires us to be, but also the kind of person that other people want to be around. In the same way we are drawn to the fresh produce that is so enticing to our tastebuds, so people are drawn to the savor of godly lives. May can be the month we bear fruit for the Lord by living in Christ and in the power of the Spirit. The world is hungry for the fruits of summer our lives can produce. Anticipating things to come!