Battlefields Large and Small

My route to the MINDER meeting this week, took me through the 5,000+ acre Chickamauga Battlefield.  As I drove through what seemed like miles and miles of monuments and markers, it really brought home the physical and emotional real estate occupied by the war.  I suppose that all of our battles, whether within families, congregations or between sworn enemies create similar footprints in our hearts and communities.  Thanks be to God for the many ministries of reconciliation we have been given… confession and forgiveness; peacemaking and doing justice.  By God’s grace, the scars of battle need not impede us forever.

After the MINDER meeting, I drove south to Westminster Pres. in Rome, where another type of battle is being staged… the battle to do the work of recovery after the recent floods.  Westminster is one of two regional staging and coordinating sites for PDA’s work to help our counties and our neighbors reclaim their lives and homes.  This also is a ministry of reconciliation and healing for both the earth and the people who live in it.