God’s Love

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

STEPHANIE HUBACH | CONTRIBUTOR Does the Guinness Book of World Records have a category for “longest period of time for keeping the same item magnetized to a refrigerator?” I sincerely doubt it. However, since the first all-steel home refrigerator was introduced by General Electric in 1929, that’s only a 95-year record to contend with. So, I’d say I’m doing pretty well. My magnetized item is actually a piece of newsprint (stuck in a magnetic frame), that says in large letters, “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.” It’s been on my various refrigerators for 32 years. How do I know the exact amount of time? I know because my son Tim, who has Down syndrome, was born 32 years ago. 32 Years Ago—Jesus Loves Me, This I Know: My Sheer Act of Faith Five days after New Year’s Day of 1992, I gave birth to my second son. That evening, I heard the words that changed my family’s life forever. “We believe your son has a chromosomal abnormality.” As it turns out, a little piece of extra genetic material can influence a whole host of changes in a human body. Some of those changes create authentic challenges (to the point of being life-threatening, such as severe cardiac conditions). Some of those changes bring forth wonderful qualities in a “super-abundance” not as fully experienced by those of us with a typical collection of 46 chromosomes. In those early days, my heart was understandably caught up with the former: the weight of the authentic challenges and the practical nature of addressing those difficulties. By choice, we did not know in advance that Tim had Down syndrome. (That’s a conversation for another day.) Nor did we know that he would have a tumultuous ride of health issues in his first year, culminating in open heart surgery at seven months old. The tsunami of new responsibilities in terms of medical care and therapies, accompanied by grief at the loss of my expectations for what I thought Tim’s life (and ours) would look like, made our infant and toddler days with our oldest son, Freddy, feel other-worldly. Sometime, early in this journey, is when the newspaper clipping became attached to my refrigerator. “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.” Christmas vacation occurred the weeks just prior to Tim’s birth. We were all home together, as my husband had time off from work. And I specifically remember intentionally enjoying that time with Freddy—knowing (but not how much) it would change soon, with the addition of a new baby. I also distinctly recall singing a particular song with him—one that I remember God bringing to mind (from my own childhood) during that time. It was this: There is a name I love to hear I love to sing its worth It sounds like music in my ear The sweetest name on earth O how I love Jesus O how I love Jesus O how I love Jesus Because he first loved me...

An Invitation to Something Greater

ALICE KIM|CONTRIBUTOR Some time ago, I came upon a word sign that hung as the backdrop to an extended farmhouse table at a restaurant in Texas. It read, “where everyone has a seat at a table.” In Luke 10:38-42, the story debuting Martha and Mary, we discover that there is an empty seat waiting to be filled. An Invitation to Sit at the Table The scene opens with Martha welcoming Jesus and his disciples for rest from their itinerate schedule and a home cooked meal. The guests settle in, and Martha is busy with food prep. Mary is co-hostess, but she has abandoned her duties and is instead sitting amongst the company of men, savoring the teachings of Jesus. Aware of this, Martha is upset, and understandably so. She expected her sister to be by her side, shouldering the responsibility together but from her vantage point, Mary deserted her. Her discontentment is uncontainable, so she takes matters into her own hands. She turns to Jesus and is uncomfortably frank, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” (v. 40). Furthermore, her ability to influence her sister to return to the kitchen is beyond her realm of control. So, she insists Jesus tell Mary to do what she should have been doing all along, and ASAP. But perhaps the worst part is the feeling that her sister doesn’t care and now, she doubts if Jesus cares...