“Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40: 27-29
Dear Friends,
It is hard to believe that December is here once again! But now is a good time for reflection on the year that has flown by - and for looking ahead. Here at Rochester L’Abri we have much that we are thankful for, and we stand in awe at all that God has been doing.
For some time, we have been praying about preparing this branch for the future. And He has heard our prayers! We have seen his provision of wonderful staff – and now also the Carriage House, which - thanks to the continued generosity of the donor – we are expecting will be finished by Spring. Our experience with construction in Missouri is coming in handy, as we are designing the apartment in the style of a Swiss Chalet, as per the donor’s wishes. Jock and I love going to hardware stores and looking at all the options, and we have picked out the kitchen and bathroom styles, gas fireplaces, doors, and paneling etc. The donor wants things to be good quality with solid wood ceilings, floors and cabinets. It’s a new experience not having to sweat over the cost of these things and we are deeply grateful and can look forward to having more wonderful accommodation for this branch. This development is truly a miraculous thing as it has been hoped for ever since the first purchase of the Rochester property in the early 90’s.
As I write, the L’Abri International Tustees are gathered at Canadian L’Abri and our prayers are with them, for clarity and fellowship as they carry the responsibility for this growing international work. We regularly pray for some of our newer, more far flung branches, now in South Brazil, South Africa, Australia and Korea. While Jock is away, I have been taking time to reflect on the early days of L’Abri and rereading some of the Schaeffer’s letters. It is very moving to look back and see the unfolding of God’s purposes for their lives as they wrestled with the uncertainty of choices and pressures from home, as well as from the Swiss canton. I am reminded again of the golden thread of God’s leading them, their willingness to be used by Him and what grew out of their faithful daily choices. Especially moving was Schaeffer’s letter home to a member of the mission board, expressing a renewal of the sweetness of his early days of faith.
He wrote “… as I walked, I looked up at the Dents (mountains) with their swirling mists so high above me. I thought how our dear Lord comes into a more proper perspective in our thinking in such a place as this - for the higher the mountains the more understandable is the glory of Him who made them and holds them in His hand. But, the other side is also true, man also comes into a more proper place - as the Lord gains in greatness in comparison to the mountains, so man diminishes. And as it is with space, it is also true of time.”
On Monday mornings, we have been working through the
Psalms, taking turns leading the study. Again and again, we see the psalms give God’s perspective on our experience of human joys and sorrows. We become preoccupied by the everyday challenges, but when we turn to God’s Word we are reminded of His ‘mountain top’ perspective, that He is holding this world and our life in His hands. His majesty and our humanness are a theme that never grows old. His ability to enter in - always for good - is a deep comfort.
And we are strengthened by the fact that we have seen
prayers answered repeatedly. Do you remember when the L’Abri well failed and we needed $50,000 to connect to city water? The money came in so quickly and that step was actually an essential building block for the development of the carriage house, as all new builds have to be on city water. In addition, shortly afterwards, the city changed local zoning laws to promote the development of secondary dwellings, another essential building block. Did we know that this would all unfold? No, but God did! We have seen and known his faithfulness in both the small personal things as well as in the historical development of this work. It is one of the great encouragements that comes with getting older. Even though we do get tired and weary, our lived experience of God’s faithfulness grows. Remembering His specific answers to prayer is a biblical pattern and His faithful work in the history of L’Abri is indeed a demonstration of the truth and reality of the God
who is There, just as Schaeffer wanted L'Abri to be.
Recently I was talking about this with a woman who is an Episcopal priest, as we sat in the chairs looking out over Rochester. I was at first a little nervous - she is a very intelligent Yale graduate, but as I talked about the reality of answered prayer, we quickly just became two people enjoying talking about God. Everyone He sends here is significant and a person made in the image of God. Another man has encouraged us all as we have seen significant changes in his life over the last few years of his regular visits. There is nothing better than seeing people discovering the riches of life in Christ. There are so many stories we could tell of significant conversations, answered prayers and the like, all despite our very frail humanness. The constant is our God who is renewing us all and bending us to His purposes.
This entering in and taking on our humanity is what we are celebrating this Christmas. What a wonder and joy it is to celebrate this consummate act of loving kindness. May this joy be with each one of you this Christmas.
In Christ
Alison.