JOYFUL WORDS
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Hospitality
  • About Sheri

Mercy and Grace in Joplin

4/20/2015

0 Comments

 
Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Nearly four years ago Kevin graduated from high school and I remember that day clear as a bell for several different reasons.  I remember it being a beautiful spring day complete with a mammas smiles, tears and pride.  I also remember that when the party had been cleaned up and the sun was starting to set Dave and I plopped down in the living room and turned on the Tigers but every channel we turned to contained scenes from the tornado that had chewed up Joplin Missouri.  We watched in shock as they showed scenes of the destruction nature had unfolded on that south-west Missouri town.  It was one of the most destructive natural disasters ever.  I remember contacting friends in south-east Kansas the next day to see if it had been as bad at the news made it seem and they assured me it was worse.  I remember wondering how a town really ever recovers from something so devastating. I remember praying for weeks for the people in that area but then the thought began to drift away and then it seems I forgot about it completely; until this past weekend that is.

Last Thursday night I flew to Joplin to speak at a conference and it all came flooding back as the plane began to touch down.  I wasn’t sure what I would see.  I wasn’t sure how a place could recover from something so devastating.  To say that I was overwhelmed and amazed with what I saw would be the understatement of the century.  Joplin was new; it was beautiful, it was incredible.  Everywhere I looked it was new buildings, sidewalks, roads, homes.  I went to mass in the most amazing new church I’ve ever seen, complete with a new Catholic School and Parish outreach complex.  The hospital that had been destroyed was replaced with a huge, state of the art complex that was up and running and in the business of bringing life, saving life and changing lives.  All of that progress in less than four years.  Everyone I spoke with in Joplin credits the Mercy and Grace of a loving God for the healing and the progress of their town after that fateful day four May’s ago. They tell about many children being interviewed after the tornado and clearly describing the angels who wrapped them in their wings to protect them as the storm raged around them. Each person who told me about that night spoke about the triumph of faith, love and compassion.  Not once did I hear a tale of woe, complaint or bitterness, each story focused on the miraculously happy ending and the after effects of deeper faith, restored spirits and confidence in the complete and trustworthy presence of God and his infinite goodness, grace and mercy.

I spent the weekend with some amazing women of faith gathered in Joplin from towns all across Southern Missouri.  It was a weekend of laughter, joy and sharing the amazing gift of discipleship.  I was invited to teach, inspire and ignite a fire for Christ but these women and the people of Joplin I spoke with during my stay were the ones who did those things for me. I packed my bags and caught a flight prepared to give; instead, I received.  When I told people I wanted to share a tiny slice of their story they told me to invite you to take a trip to Joplin if you were ever interested in witnessing miracles too many to count.

A Seed To Plant: Join me in prayers of thanksgiving for the gift of God’s mercy and grace.

Blessings on your day!

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Joyful Words magnet picture

    ​Click on the items below to expand the options available to you to explore the Joyful Words blog.

    Categories

    All
    1 Corinthians
    1 John
    1 Thessalonians
    2 Corinthians
    Acts Of Love
    Advent
    Ageing
    All In
    Amazing
    Anxiety
    Armor Of God
    Asking For Help
    Bad Habits
    Balance
    Baptism
    Be
    Beauty
    Being Gracious
    Blessed Mother Teresa Of Calcutta
    Blessing
    Blessings
    Brokenness
    Carry Our Cross
    Catholic Education
    Change
    Changes
    Cheerfulness
    Children
    Choices
    Christian Belief
    Christmas
    Colossians
    Commitment
    Comparisons
    Compassion
    Consistent
    Content
    Contentment
    Courage
    Crosses
    Crumbs
    Dad
    Daughters Of God
    Delight
    Desire
    Details
    Die To Self
    Discipleship
    Dissapointment
    Easter
    Ecclesiastes
    Education
    Encouragement
    Enemy
    Ephesians
    Evangelization
    Exodus
    Expectations
    Faith
    Faithfulness
    Falling Short
    Family
    Fathers Love
    Fear
    Flag
    Footstool
    Forgiveness
    Fresh Start
    Friendship
    Fr. Mike
    Fr. Mike Schmitz
    Galatians
    Generosity
    God In Everyday Things
    God In Scripture
    Gods Beloved
    God's Enough
    God's Forgiveness
    Gods Gifts
    God's Guidance
    God's Love
    Gods Love
    God's Plan
    Gods P Lan
    God's Restoration
    Gods Strength
    God's Timing
    Gods Timing
    Gods Ways
    God's Will
    Gods Will
    Goodness
    Good News
    Grace
    Grandma
    Grandpa
    Gratefulness
    Gratitude
    Greatness
    Gretness
    Grief
    Happiness
    Healing
    Heart
    Heaven
    Hebrews
    He Chose Me
    Holiness
    Holy Spirit
    Holy Thrusday
    Holy Thursday
    Holy Week
    Hope
    Humble
    Humility
    Identity In Christ
    Intimacy
    Isaiah
    James
    Jeremiah
    John
    Joshua
    Joy
    Judgement
    Justice
    Kids
    Kindne
    Kindness
    Labor
    Laughter
    Lent
    Lessons
    Light
    Listening
    Little
    Love
    Lovelies
    Luke
    Mark
    Marriage
    Mary
    Matthew
    Meekness
    Mercy
    Mom
    Mornings
    Mud
    Obedience
    Openness
    Parenting
    Parentng
    Patience
    Peace
    Pentacost
    People
    Perseverance
    Perspeceive
    Perspective
    Philippians
    Pioneers
    Pleasing God
    Poor
    Porch
    Positive
    Possibilities
    Pray
    Prayer
    Priorities
    Promises
    Proverbs
    Psalm
    Relationship
    Religion
    Romans
    Sacrifice
    Sacrifices
    Sainthood
    Saints
    Samuel
    Scripture
    Seeking God
    Service
    Serving God
    Signs
    Silence
    Simple
    Sin
    Sinfulness
    Slow Down
    Small Stuff
    Steve Ray
    Stillness
    St. Mary's 4th Of July
    Strength
    Stress
    Suffering
    Surprises
    Surrender
    Temptation
    Thanks
    The Right Thing
    Time
    Troubled Times
    Trust
    Trust In God
    Truth
    Understanding
    Unravelled
    Valentines
    Waiting
    Weddings
    Word Of The Year
    Words
    Worry


    ​Archives

    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012


    Back to Home

    RSS Feed


      HOME                        BLOG                       SPEAKING                        WRITING                        HOSPITALITY                        MEET SHERI  

CONTACT: 989.640.6673
Picture
EMAIL

FACEBOOK

Twitter

Content is the intellectual property of Sheri Wohlfert 2017
Created by dhengesbach
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Hospitality
  • About Sheri