Who Doesn’t Love A Hug?

Dear Parishioners,

I was awakened recently by my 7-year old granddaughter jumping on our bed. My wife had been up for a while, so little Amelia thought she had the right to come and awaken me with her jumping and peals of giggles. I wasn’t so amused. But I am also aware of the fact that it is a gift for us to live so close to family. I have a friend who is going out to California to see family, and he is not sure that his daughter will speak to him. They have a conflicted relationship. My wife and I are blessed with children who speak to us and with grandchildren who play with us. I hope that it is good for them, because it is certainly rejuvenating for us to be in their presence.

I think that God intended us to be in community. We all need personal space no doubt, but isn’t it also great to have a hug sometimes? I know our society has this value about doing it my way. But isn’t it also wonderful to be able to be supported by friends and family who love you?

Loneliness is a great despair that many people experience. To be known and to know another person is a gift. I think that God puts people in our lives for us and for them to be held and supported. To know and to be known means that I am not alone, but I am a part of a social fabric that gives me strength, a social network that holds me, a connection that says that I am thought about, remembered, and not forgotten. This is a quality of church that brings me back every day. Christ tells us that he is with us until the end of time (Matt 28:20). I need that, I seek that, I am thankful for that! Let us at St. Jane Frances be community for each other. We all need a little more of that.

Blessings,
Deacon Steve