October 2023

Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.  Mark 5:19

Rally: to muster for a common purpose; to recall to order; to rouse to action; to rouse from depression or weakness. (Mariam Webster)

When my boys were growing up they played little league baseball. They were very close in age, so I was lucky to have them on the same team; it avoided a lot of extra running around. Watching them play “T” ball was daunting. They were so young; they would get very  frustrated when they missed the ball. For me there was another level of frustration because every child stayed at bat until he was able to strike the ball off the “T.”

As the boys grew all of that time paid off. They got better with every year and watching their games was fun. There was a lot of camaraderie among the parents because we spent evenings and weekends together, but there was also a wonderful camaraderie among the players. I watched my boys encourage and support their friends.

One of the things I loved the most  about watching the team was when they would “rally.” If the team was down, each of them would turn their baseball hats inside out and yell “rally, rally, rally.”  One night on the way home I asked if they were bored in the dugout, and why they were fooling around turning their hats inside out. In unison, like I was the dumbest person to walk the planet, they said “Mom, we were rallying, we turn our hats inside out when we rally.”

Every fall Rally Days always remind me of this story. I love to watch the church “rally,” call to order, rouse to action, and muster for a common purpose, each fall. This year we had an extraordinary day, and an extraordinary showing of adults and children!

I hope we rally every Sunday and continue to come home each week to be roused from the depression and weakness the world can heap upon us. For here we find love, encouragement, friendship and definitely laughter. As they say in twelve step recovery programs: 

Keep coming, it works if you work it. So, work it, you’re worth it!

Pastor Val