“Fear is such a powerful emotion for humans that when we allow it to take us over,
it drives compassion right out of our hearts.” ~ Thomas Aquinas
You may recall my mentioning Rev. Dr. Lee Bowman who was pastoring First Presbyterian Church in Lexington when Stacy Yelton and I started attending many years ago. Lee moved to First Presbyterian in Highlands, North Carolina after several years in Lexington. That’s a far piece from home, making a Sunday visit unlikely, though Stacy and I often wished we could make the drive. Last summer, before she retired, Lee told me a little about her North Carolina church. It sounded lovely, and upon her retirement, I was especially sorry that we never made it to hear one last superb sermon from her.
The resort I drove mom and dad to is just thirty minutes from Highlands and Lee’s former church. After a decent night of rest, and in spite of the nasty weather, Mom and I went to morning services at First Presbyterian in Highlands today. The young woman who now co-pastors the church, Emily Wilmarth, did a wonderful job and she couldn’t have been more welcoming if she rolled out red carpet for us. Her message on this first Sunday of Advent was especially close to my heart. Like the quote above (once again total coincidence), she spoke on the effects of fear, and how we fallible human beings are prone to let it take over our thoughts to the point that we become irrational, without compassion, not-very-Christ-like. I look at my aging parents and aging loved ones and I fear for their future, and mine without them. Her words were as a balm to soothe my own fear. A fear that itself is irrational since I can’t do anything about aging or that I might fall short of what everyone needs from me along the way.
The church in Highlands looks quite different from First Pres in Lexington. The majority of the pews are the original pews made for the church. The additions to the building over the decades have been done in exquisite taste. They do not detract from the original building’s design, but accentuate it instead. Lee wasn’t at service today, so I missed seeing her in person. But I’m sure wherever she was she was cheering us on. After all, this was mom’s first ever visit to a Presbyterian Church and the entire congregation was as sweet as could be. The only thing missing was Stacy. I’ll be back someday and hopefully she’ll come with me to enjoy the kindness of this southern mountain church.
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