I started to connect with people ... to notice a reconnection to devotion and prayer ...
Faith & daily life
At the heart of our faith is the belief that God meets us where we are in all the places and relationships in which we live , work , play and relate . We pray , support and encourage one another as we grow deeper in faith and learn to trust God with our whole lives . Some of us are new on the journey ; others have been at it for awhile . All of us can find inspiration and hope in the stories of our fellow travelers . FAITH & DAILY LIFE will be featured monthly with stories of God at work in YOUR life .
Mountains , Lefse and New Friends
Sacred Interruptions ... by Thomas Specht
This J-term for my Luther College course , I chose to go to Holden Village . While Holden is traditionally a village for regrowth and faith , I did not go expecting to have the same results . During my one-month stay , my intention was to study environmental policy cases impacting the Pacific Northwest and to learn more about policy as a whole . However , being exposed to the loving and accepting community that is Holden , my purpose quickly changed .
When we first arrived , I was timid to speak with other people ; I was greeted by the registration head , Nicholas , who later I would call a friend . Others immediately greeted me and a warmth of acceptance filled me and calmed my worries in this new , unknown place . Within a couple of days , I started to really connect with the people around me , villagers and classmates alike . I also began to notice a reconnection to devotion and prayer . Daily vespers and morning word allowed me to feel closer to God through deeper reflection . Being in the beautiful mountains of God ’ s creation was also a definite bonus , going on hikes for discovery of gospel contemplation in his majesty .
I started to connect with people ... to notice a reconnection to devotion and prayer ...
In my short time at Holden , I felt comfortable in such a tight-knit community and was allowed to truly be myself . I also discovered that I have gifts of service to share with others . An example of this was a gift of food and laughter given to those around me . After receiving some tasty treats as a welcome gift for our group in a “ chalet crawl ,” I wanted to repay them for their generosity and kindness . So , as any Lutheran would , I went into the woodshop and , determined as always , created a lefse stick that I would later use to serve the village lefse , in gratitude . Seeing the joy in people ' s faces as they ate the freshly made lefse was a feeling words cannot describe . From this experience I truly felt welcome and myself .
I have now gone back to Luther , ready to share my gift of food and laughter with others and hopefully establish a similar community based off of the generosity that I personally witnessed . And I will definitely be returning to Holden Village as soon as I can .
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