Who is like you, Lord God Almighty?
You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you. (Psalm 89:8 NIV)
This past weekend I returned to the small township where I grew up for a church-hosted community reunion picnic. In a township of about 200 adults and a church of around 60 people, the gathering was open to anyone who had ever called the township home, whether they still lived there or not. On Thursday, my mom and a handful of others went to “The Clubhouse” to do some cleaning and prepare for the event. After the floors were mopped, the windows washed, and the tables and chairs were set up, they took down the curtains to be washed.
As a child, I attended countless gatherings in that building—monthly 4-H meetings, Community Club events, Farm Bureau potlucks, election days, birthday and anniversary celebrations, and funeral luncheons. After all these years, the building looks much the same (although indoor restrooms were thankfully added about twenty years ago). It has long been a place where people gather to celebrate, mourn, vote, serve, and simply enjoy one another’s company.
The last time I had been there was for my dad’s funeral luncheon. Had that been my only memory of the building, I think returning would have been much more difficult. I still remember sitting at a table in the corner that day, talking with my out-of-state cousins. But that painful memory was surrounded by decades of happier ones, and those earlier memories helped soften the grief.
On Friday, I found myself helping my mom rehang the curtains after they had been washed. They aren’t particularly beautiful, but they have endured remarkably well. None are torn, and very few even show signs of wear. They soften the hard walls and square windows while providing privacy when needed. At the risk of assigning too much spiritual significance to something as ordinary as curtains, I found myself thinking about their quiet faithfulness. For decades they have simply hung there—unobtrusive, functional, and dependable—always ready to serve their purpose.
Sometime in the 1960s or 1970s, a woman in the community named Mary sewed those green patterned polyester curtains for the building’s nine windows. More than fifty years later, they were still there, waiting for their annual (or perhaps biannual) washing. During those decades they have witnessed countless people pass through the doors for meetings, celebrations, funerals, reunions, and elections. They have seen young children grow into adults, adults become grandparents, and generations come and go. My grandparents celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in that building, and years later my parents celebrated theirs there as well. Through changing seasons, storms and sunshine, years of frequent use and quieter times, the Clubhouse has remained a gathering place for the community.
For generations, the people of this little rural township have faithfully cared for both the building and one another. They are not flashy people. They are hardworking men and women who raise families, help their neighbors, and quietly do what needs to be done. Like any community, there are a few colorful personalities, but by and large they are simply good, faithful people.
They faithfully maintain the Clubhouse. They faithfully care for one another. They faithfully gather at their little church. And, most importantly, they faithfully serve their God.
As I thought about windows being washed, floors mopped, tables and chairs arranged, and those old curtains rehung once again, I was reminded that faithfulness often looks a lot like those curtains. It isn’t glamorous. It rarely draws attention to itself. But year after year, season after season, it quietly serves, blesses others, and stands the test of time.
May we, too, be faithful stewards of what God has given us, whether old or new, flashy or boring. And in our faithfulness, may God be glorified.
AMEN.
I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant,
‘I will establish your line forever
and make your throne firm through all generations.’”
The heavens praise your wonders, Lord,
your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?
In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;
he is more awesome than all who surround him.
Who is like you, Lord God Almighty?
You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you. (Psalm 89:1-8 NIV)