Monthly Minute with Pastor Andrew

Hello to all the Monthly Minute readers of West Hempfield Presbyterian Church!

One Monday morning this past month I woke up with what I thought was just a stomach ache. “I knew potato chips after 10pm was a bad idea,” I thought to myself.

But by the end of that day I was in the emergency room, in a lot of pain, and waiting on the results of several tests.

I was diagnosed with appendicitis and scheduled for surgery to have my appendix removed. Should be easy, you don’t need your appendix anyway.

Well, ... Thursday, after a few complications that slowed things down, I was finally home again.

Of course, I know, as far as hospital visits go, this was not a bad one, but it still wasn’t fun. There was a lot of pain, and a recovery period still ahead. “Take it easy for 2-3 weeks,” they said.

It is in times like this that I try to think about Bible verses like Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always.”

I try to think about that, because I find it hard to do.

It’s hard to rejoice, when I am in pain.

It’s hard to rejoice, when I can’t put on my own socks without help.

It’s hard to rejoice, when it feels like all of the luck is bad luck. “What else could go wrong?”

However, I feel like God is trying to tell us that it is exactly at times like these that “Rejoice” is what we need to keep going, to not lose hope.

I think there’s two kinds of “Rejoice always” to explore.

First, to rejoice even in the hardship.

This is a little easier when we are talking about an appendix, which, while painful, was never really life threatening.

I am trying to rejoice even in the challenging situation, reflecting on where the bad can lead to good. How can I learn and grow through this?

Thank you, Lord, because through this challenge You are making me stronger, increasing my empathy, giving me new understanding.

Some situations, however, are so bad that to try to give it a “silver lining,” at least at first, feels disrespectful.

It’s ok for some things in this world to just be bad. That’s the corruption of sin on this earth.

My second thought on “Rejoice always,” reminds me that even in situations where it feels like no good could come from this, there is no dark that is powerful enough to block all of God’s light.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley (or the valley of the shadow of death), I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” Psalm 23:4

I had texted my dad one night … “First night home had some hard moments, because I’m not at 100% yet. But a lot of great ones, too. This moment is a bad one. But this moment was preceded by a few great moments–like seeing the kids again after being away–and will be followed by many more great moments, too. A friend just ordered pizza and had it sent to our house for supper tonight. Out of the blue. Just one less thing to worry about today. And a lot of people are praying for me.”

I say sometimes that prayer can be easier when life is difficult, because “please help” seems to come easier than “thank you”.

But it’s important to remember on the good days, the bad days, and all the in-between days, “Rejoice in the Lord always.”

Blessings,   Rev. Andrew Wirt