{"id":22368,"date":"2018-02-03T00:05:33","date_gmt":"2018-02-03T08:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=22368"},"modified":"2018-02-02T13:53:49","modified_gmt":"2018-02-02T21:53:49","slug":"february-3-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/02\/03\/february-3-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"February 3, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.\u201d <\/em>Romans 1:12<\/p>\n

True Community<\/strong><\/h2>\n

(This devotional stems from a long journey that our missionary, Juli McGowan Boit, and her family have been on to seek medical treatment for their toddler son, Ryan.)<\/p>\n

Henri Nouwen said, “Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply.”<\/p>\n

The 61 days Ryan lived at UCLA Children’s Hospital were permeated with love. A kind of love that\u00a0never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.\u00a0<\/em>A kind of love that far exceeds my comprehension or ability, all the while graciously inviting me in. A kind of love that embraces brokenness and recognizes that “true community is a fellowship of the weak.” There were mountains and valleys and endless opportunities to understand more fully: how wide, how long, how high and how deep God’s love truly is.<\/p>\n

We entered the hospital with the hope of healing for Ryan. After battling hard and long, we came home with the deepest sense of gratitude. Not only for seemingly favorable and miraculous outcomes but for the love of God that certainly has held us through it all.<\/p>\n

This journey was not only about the love we could give but also what we needed to receive.\u00a0<\/em>It helped to sustain us in both joy and sorrow. As Nelson Mandela writes, “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.”<\/p>\n

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere<\/em>. Oh, but may it come with healing in its wings.\u00a0For all who have loved and supported us along the way, we will be forever grateful.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur great and all-powerful Father, we ask that You bless this family in their great trial, that You bring full healing to little Ryan, and that they would always remember these lessons in loving. May we, also, love others deeply and receive the love that is offered to us, even in all our hardships. In Jesus\u2019 name, Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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