December Mourning...D.O.T.S.
December 2015: Dark. Dreary. Dismal. Although festive Christmas lights brightened the evenings, day after day cloudy skies reigned. No white sparkling snow. No blue skies. No sunshine.  Tragically on December 14, our son’s friend’s father committed suicide.  And a few days later, one of our friends, who had 2 young children, after only a 2 month diagnosis, lost her battle with cancer.  Now the darkness and drear penetrated not only the skies, but also our hearts! “Not now. This is the worst time of year for this, “ we cried.  But as I read this comforting verse, “He  (God) will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4, I realized,  especially now, with the Savior’s birth, we are comforted with God’s peace and hope, even in the face of death.  As I read with my son, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” by Barbara Robinson, I was reminded again of how Jesus comes to earth, not in the perfection of flawless hair and clothes or shiny clean faces, but in the muck and mire of the stable. In the same way, Christ comes into the muck and mire of grief at Christmas time. And on Christmas Day, Pastor Paul Garchow declared, “Just as surely as there is an expiration date on the mayonnaise jar in your refrigerator, there is an expiration date on suffering! Christ’s coming to this earth as our Savior guarantees that when Christ comes again there will be no more suffering!”  So even as we grieve losses in December, we are reminded that suffering will not last forever. No matter how dark or dreary some days may seem, the Christmas reality truly brings hope and light for those depending on the Savior.

You are invited to
“D.O.T.S.” Depending on the Savior,
Women’s Event,
Saturday, April 23, 2016, 8 am-12pm
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 210 S. Ringold St. Janesville, WI


Revelation 21:1-5 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”