We had such an enthusiastic return to our 9:45am Bible Classes last week! And we will be ready for you again this Sunday as we are open for all ages during the Bible class hour. Children and teens are in their usual places and all adults are in the Gym for a class taught by Jordan Black. Almost every chair was full in the Gym last Sunday for Jordan’s excellent class. We’re doing our best to provide safe, secure and uplifting Sunday morning environments for you. Our in-person protocols are here.
Kyle Strickland leads an online class at 10:00am each Sunday here and last week over 60 people participated. It is outstanding.
Thank you to “the congregation” for our ministry staff goodie bags (fancy!) which magically showed up last Sunday. That was incredibly kind and thoughtful, and so very encouraging as well. Thank you again.
Everybody has heard of PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder. But have you ever heard of PTG?
Researcher and professor, Richard Tedeschi, teaches at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has done much research into PTSD but he has also written extensively about PTG (post-traumatic growth).
He and a colleague started their research by interviewing survivors of severe injuries. He then went on to survey older people who had lost their spouses. In case after case, he heard this message: “I wish I had not suffered this injury or lost my spouse, but nonetheless, over time, the experience has changed me for the better in ways I would have never predicted.”
Tedeschi said that people reported positive changes in five key areas: a renewed appreciation for life; new possibilities for themselves; more personal strength; improved relationships; and a deeper sense of spirituality. And so Tedeschi coined the term “post-traumatic growth” because he says, growth is actually far more common than P.T.S.D. and can even coexist with it.
Trouble will come our way in various shapes, forms and sizes. All of us will encounter some “dark nights of the soul” when our worlds have been shaken and/or broken. Hang in there. Hold on to that mustard seed of faith and believe that you will smile again. Hang on till morning. Gordon MacDonald said that in the midst of his recovery that the messages he treasured most were those that said, “there is a tomorrow, wait for it.”
We bend, we break, we repair, we rebuild, and we grow, we experience PTG, changing for the better in ways we never would have if we had not suffered. With all that has happened in 2020, I do believe we will get through this, and that together we will be better and stronger.
