Stitched with hope and love

By Matt DeBall, coordinator of Mission Advancement Communications

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for [God] has looked with favor on the lowliness of [God’s] servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.” ~Luke 1:46b-48

Do you have a favorite blanket? Mine is a purple, gray, black, and white afghan that my wife made for me years ago, right after we started dating. I was on a mission trip at the time, and it was carefully crocheted with the hope of my safe return, and with love.

As experienced during Advent, Mary’s song is a beautiful stitch in the larger, intricate blanket of God’s story. God’s promise to bless her and to save Israel filled her with joy, and she sang a new yet familiar song, testifying to what God had done and would do.

The song of Mary echoes the sentiments of an earlier song. “Give thanks to the LORD….Sing praises to the LORD, [who] has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy… for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 12:4-6). Mary and Isaiah both offered praise to God for past faithfulness, current presence, and future promise. Their eyes could not behold the fulfillment of God’s promises, but through faith, their hearts perceived God’s work as already complete. Their words are great for us to read (and sing) now because of all that God has done, is doing, and will still do in our midst.

As we reflect on this past year, God has surely done great things among us. Youth and advisors gathered at National Youth Conference to be challenged in their walk of faith. Church planters and others gathered at the New and Renew Conference for professional development and encouragement for the work of nurturing new disciples. Josiah and Christine Ludwick and their children began a year of service in Rwanda to preach, teach, and demonstrate a Brethren way of living. Brethren in Spain continued to add new congregations and expanded their membership. In Nigeria, Global Mission executive Jay Wittmeyer was present at the commissioning of a new EYN congregation at the Gurku Interfaith Camp for displaced people.  These are just a few examples of how your gifts helped add to our larger community blanket in 2018.

As you reach for your favorite blanket this winter season, please sing a song of thanksgiving for all that God has done through the Church of the Brethren, offer a prayer for the continued work of our ministries, and make a gift with hopeful expectation of what God will do. God surely has great things in store for us, and with God’s help and through your partnership, 2019 will be wonderfully stitched with hope and love.

(Read this issue of eBrethren.)

One thought on “Stitched with hope and love

  1. I’d like to send my son to a conference where his faith will be challenged. Hopefully there he can come closer to God. I feel like it would be more effective if his friends went too.

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