DECEMBER 5, 2006
Dear Friends,
After my early morning runs, I sit on the curb in silence looking up into the heavens. On yesterday's crisp winter December morning I yearned to hear the voice of God, to feel His presence brush against my senses. After all, it is the Christmas season, a season of anticipation, a time for joy, a time of competition between the miracles and the ever present manufactured magic. I am tired, but like so many others I am happily drawn into it all.
Then, all so quietly, God's grace addressed my desires and reminded me of His great gift: Jesus, God in a manger, willingly powerless, the ultimate expression of sacrificial love.
French Jesuit John Pierre De Caussade wrote in the 1750's "God instructs the heart not by ideas but by pains and contradictions." With the curb as my prayer closet, I asked the Lord to continue to let my heart be broken by the things that break His, that I might learn – from the pain REACH shares with our families and from the contradictions carried along by the demands of this holy and harried season.
Last night, it seems the lesson began. Voices of a tremendously skilled choir sang out:
Sing lullaby, while snow doth gently fall, Sing lullaby to Jesus born in an oxen stall, Sing lullaby, Sing lullaby to Jesus born now in Bethlehem, the naked black thorn's growing to weave his diadem. Sing lullaby to Jesus, Sing lullaby while thickly snow doth fall, sing lullaby to Jesus the Savior of all.
The composer of those lyrics placed contradiction smack in the center of a lullaby. The promise of pain jammed tight against the joy of our Savior's birth. My mind moved to the lives of children infected with HIV/AIDS. Even at their healthiest and happiest, they are at the mercy of "naked black thorns." REACH is powerless against their disease, but with your help, we continue to create a positive contradiction – we can bring hope, helpful and healthy relationships and healing to their hearts.
Blessings on your head,
Susan K. Slonaker
You have provided essential work to the unmet spiritual needs. I hope that you will continue to pray as well as to continue to financially support this important ministry now and in the coming year.