I know I'm told not to apologize for things I can't control or have no responsibility over, but sometimes I can't help it. So...
I'm sorry for getting sick this week.
Yep, I apologize for not washing my hands as much as I should, not avoiding grubby kids, and not screening my neighbors for potential viruses.
With all sincerity, it is a miserable feeling to be sick and helpless. My strep throat took over Friday night and the fever wouldn't let go until Monday morning when I finally gave up and went to the doctor. I assumed (erroneously) that I could handle this thing myself...and it killed me to have to ask for help.
So, as I lay in my quarantined room away from the kids and wife I might potentially infect (I'm told I should be safe to resume normal dad duties tomorrow), I am realizing what it means to trust and submit.
Our wonderful music director, Dorothy Clore, told me on Saturday, "Don't be ridiculous. Stay home Sunday. Ask Pastor Corey to fill in and take care of yourself. Get better and don't make yourself worse."
With much urging, I followed her advice and couldn't be more thankful. I am overwhelmingly thankful for Rev. Corey LeCureux's invaluable leadership and willingness to extend a hand of support across denominational lines once again. He is a blessing to this community and a cherished friend and colleague to me personally.
Why does it take so much for us to admit that we need help sometimes? Why are we so hesitant to admit when we cannot do all the things we want or think we wanted to accomplish? What is it about ourselves that drives us toward selfish actions that might otherwise be better accomplished by communal efforts?
The church is never meant to be a solo act. We serve, worship, pray, play, and act with, for, and by one another IN ADDITION to the Holy Spirit. I'm sorry it took this bout with a childhood illness to remind me of that lesson, but maybe that's what I needed.
You, the congregation of Church in the Hills, are called to serve according to God's will and support TOGETHER. We need to lean on one another when we are weak and lift one another up when we are strong. And through it all, let us not lose sight of the same Jesus Christ who holds us all up in a way that we never could ourselves apart from his grace.
I'm already feeling better.
Peace and grace (and thanks to my buddy, Corey),
Pastor Andrew Pomerville
