Dear Friends of Longview Chapel,
Last Sunday we explored Mary, Joseph, and Jesus fleeing to Egypt – a land that held memories of horrific slavery and anguish for their people. But this time as they visited there as refugees, escaping King Herod’s cruelty as he wiped out innocent children to protect his kingship, Egypt became a land where the little family found safety and respite. It is likely that not everyone welcomed them with open arms in Egypt. Some may have been angry that they could not speak the native language. Others may have remembered the history of the Hebrew people escaping slavery with Moses. Still others may have feared that they would take jobs or food they wanted and needed. But I am sure there were many who welcomed them and helped them to feel at home in this strange land. There were many who befriended them. Egypt, once a land that meant horror and slavery to Mary and Joseph, now meant hope and safety. Coming to Egypt with God’s new light helped to broaden their understandings and experience.
One of the things my revisiting some of my past experiences has led me to do in 2025 is to make 4 Afghans for Cancer Action. My stepmother, Stella Hendee Heim, from 2007 to 2019, spent at least 4,428 hours making Afghans. The average number of hours to make one Afghan is 25, they say – I will not tell you how many hours just one took me. When Stella first was engaged to my dad, I struggled more than a bit. My mom had been gone about 6 months, and I knew my dad was lonely and struggling. She was a very different person than my mom in many ways. Her beliefs and mine on some pretty essential things were completely opposite. Over the 20+ years they were married before dad passed, I grew to appreciate her, and she grew to appreciate me as well. She took amazing care of my dad and made his life more full of love and experiences. I will always give thanks for that. Even after dad passed, I sometimes spent the night with her when I was the Interim Regional Minister for Kansas City. Had we not both kept revisiting our relationship, we would have both missed out. She asked that I preach her funeral message and I was honored to do so.
This year, I decided to start making Afghans to honor her and to continue her legacy of helping to bring comfort to those finding their way through cancer treatments. When I dropped these 2 Afghans off this morning, the lady remembered Stella well and it was a joy to talk about her passion for helping people and crocheting. She is the one who told me the numbers of hours Stella had logged.
How is God asking us to revisit people and places in our past and in our world’s past with new light and insight from our relationship with Jesus?
Blessings and LOTS of Light in 2026,
Pastor Donna