Bricks and mortar of the east side of the LRH came tumbling down in June to the anger of some and the pleasure of others. Listen to the words of Chaplain Barbra Wills as she reflects on these changes...When the day of Pentecost had come... And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting...All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the spirt gave them ability (Acts 2:1-4)
"The text above describes an ending and a new beginning. After Jesus resurrection and ascension, his disciples were left to wait for the Holy Spirit that Jesus assured his followers he would send. The Spirit has been described in numerous ways: as the holy Comforter, Guide, and Jesus presence with his people. After Jesus ascention into heaven, it was clear that he would no longer walk with the disciples as a human presence. It was the end of a physical relationship with Jesus and the beginning of one mediated through the Holy Spirit.
The connection between the end of one thing and the beginning on another is similar to the relationship between the chicken and the egg. Which came first? It's a question we sometimes ponder. Nothing new can come into being without the ending of what came before it.
For Jesus' disciples there was both sorrow and joy in the new reality that came with the Holy Spirit's descent. Their old religious beliefs had to undergo a transformation. It was necessary to let go of some of their favorite ideas and beliefs as the church began to take shape and God made it clear that the Good News of Chirst was not just for the Jews, but for all people.
The Lutheran Retirement Home is facing some endings and beginnings as the old east wing is giving way to new construction and the birth of what will become 16 asissted living apartments. There is joy in the anticipation of this much needed level of care at the LRH, but there is also sadness and greif as we let go of some of Northwood's history and the building that many remember from it's first construction nearly fifty years ago.
The Lutheran Retirement Home has been a home and refuge to many people over the past forty five years, and it continues to be one of the finest long term care facilities in the state. The new construction is not a criticism of the past, but an assurance that the legacy, left by those who envisoned such a home, will continue for many years to come. It is also an assurance that the faith which inspired those first pioneers will continue to empower and inspire a new generation of caregivers- the faith that sent Jesus' first disciples into the world to share the good news of God's love for us: the faith that we later Christians seek to live out in this time and place.
Chaplian Will's assessmentof the home's current situation is right: change brings both hardship and blessing, dying and birthing, grieving and rejoicing. We often wish to control the chicken and the egg issue of which one comes first. But the truth is this: the Lord Jesus is both our beginning and our ending, the Alpha & Omega, and he will bring us through both. We need to be persistant in the faith which is the greatest change of all upon our lives. Changes in this life are not optional, its what we make of those changes that will make them either a curse or a blessing for us and those around us. God is more than willing to do new things, as the Bible acknowledges, the question is, are we willing to let Him? Change is seldom a problem for God!
