I have often wondered as I have grown older, if I have done what God wanted me to do. When I had polio and had been praying to die for some time; I heard a voice from inside me that said God wanted me to live. I have often pondered since that time if I accomplished anything with my life.  Why did God want me to live, he must have had a reason.  I thought one day about the Begets from Chronicles and all the people I have encountered in my 84 years.  I saw what I had created, what had come from me.  My children have a deep faith and I look at the faithful children they have created and then the Great-grandchildren that have come. Was this my purpose? Perhaps they have influenced others or been influenced by a caring teacher or a friend or they have touched someone with their lives.  I don’t know if this was my purpose -to create kind, considerate and caring beings that will carry on that promise and touch others with love and kindness.  Did the parents of Mary know what they had created, that from them would come the Christ? Did the grandparents of Moses know that a leader touched by God would come from them?  Did the grandparents and great grandparents of Albert Einstein or Thomas Edison, or Marie Curie, or Martin Luther King, or Clara Barton or Florence Nightingale or John and Charles Wesley or Francis Asbury, know that from them would come greatness?  We don’t see the fruit of our labor immediately.  It takes time for seeds to become plants and plants to produce fruit.  Years ago, I decided to grow grapes.  We ordered the plants and read the directions and planted them.  As I was reading how to care for them, I read the fine print.  It takes 3 years for the plants to produce grapes.  I would not be making grape jam soon.  We sometimes are the fruit but sometimes we are the plants who feed and nourish the fruit that is to come. Our lives are nourished not only by where we came from, our history, but also by those teachers and Pastors and friends who lead us by encouragement and example.  I know that without them I would have fallen and failed a long time ago. I thank God not only for where I came from but for those who have held me to the path, the Pastors, the teachers, the community that has kept me accountable.  

John 15:1-5 I am the vine, if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing. 

Lord, we do not know your plan for our lives, but we know we can trust you to lead us and walk with us through this life. Be with those who seek your comfort, who seek your will, you want to follow you but have worries and doubts.  Give them strength and reassurance that you will not leave them alone that you walk this path with them. Be with those facing difficult decisions about matters that will change their lives, be with those who have worries about their health, about those they love, give them your strength and guidance. Be with our pastor, our staff and our leaders, bless them with your love and assurance. In Jesus name, Amen.

Grace Epperson