Trust the Lord in all things
“For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all ways.”
Psalm 91:11
Hillspring has been my church home for many years, including almost twelve on staff. The Hillspring community has been there in every aspect of my life, but the evolution of my relationship with Jesus started many years before.
I consider my brother's death in a car-train accident as one of the most traumatic events in my life, but the fear that manifested itself in later years has been my biggest struggle. My brother died only a year after two of my very close cousins, and an uncle died in a car accident. Those two events scarred me as a sister, cousin, and niece, but my biggest fear came when my name changed to mom.
I understood all too well that parents could outlive their kids, and as a result, paranoia started to set in once our daughter was born. I couldn’t bring myself to leave her with a babysitter until she was over six months old, and if she slept in, which most moms would welcome, I was afraid to open the nursery door, fearing SIDS.
The fear was becoming unhealthy, so I tried to concentrate on how my aunt handled her grief after my cousins and uncle died. The difference between how my mom handled the loss of my brother and how my aunt handled the unimaginable loss was miles apart. My mom believed in Jesus but did not have a personal relationship with Him like my aunt did. The healing process for my mom included electric shock therapy, but my aunt leaned more on Jesus. It was obvious what I needed to do: Trust the Lord in all things!
Each summer after the accident, I would spend a few weeks with my aunt. I didn't realize at the time how much that relationship would bless me during some fearful days, but it certainly did. To ease my "mom" fears, I knew spending time with my aunt would start the process of trusting Jesus in a way I didn’t know was possible. Some of my favorite times of being a stay-at-home mom were the days my daughter and I would spend with her. She spent many hours with me sharing what Jesus meant to her and how she felt His presence during the worst days of her life. It became a bond that I will cherish forever.
My aunt knew what my little family needed and encouraged us to spend time in the Word and find a church home with like-minded people who would become like family, so that's what we did. We visited a few churches and did what we thought was necessary to become part of a church community. Our self-imposed checklist included attending worship every Sunday, having our daughter dedicated, and looking the part of a young Christian family. The once-a-week church experience did not advance the peace I needed about trusting God in all things. Just looking the part was not exactly what my aunt had in mind for us. We persevered and eventually found Hillspring, and we knew we were home. Within a few weeks, we were involved in Sunday School and part of a small group, and a bonus was meeting many of our life-long friends. The community we found was priceless, but above all else, we found a church based first and foremost on being a people centered on Jesus.
It’s still hard for me to grasp the heartache she experienced in life by losing two children and a husband in a car accident, but she trusted Jesus in all things and was able to find peace in her circumstances. My aunt died at 98 during the pandemic, and as a result, we couldn’t honor her life in a way I thought she deserved but being reunited with her family was all the celebration she ever wanted.
My prayer is for everyone to trust and love Jesus the way my aunt did. She was a good and faithful servant.
Blessings,
Peggy Zumhofe
Executive Pastor
