Xylem: Xy”lem\, n. [Gr. xy`lon wood.] (Bot.) The woody tissue of a plant that provides support and acts as a conduit for water and nourishment.
Last week, Rick and I attended the Wine and Cheese Fundraiser & Silent Auction to support Xylem Family Resource, a non-profit organization ministering to families from pre-conception to raising children through adulthood. WoW!
The event was a lot of fun. We snacked on cheese (yum… I love cheese), sipped some wine, and bid on various items in the silent auction. I felt very restored, just getting to have a date with my handsome husband!
I was bummed at being outbid on an adorable copy of “My First Message: A Devotional Bible for Kids”(just when I thought I had it, another woman got her bid in during the final seconds… drat!), but we walked away with a couple of cool gifts for a few of my pregnant friends.
This organization is so cool. I would love to work for them after I get my childbirth educator’s certification completed. Rick and I left discussing whether we could give to them more regularly this year. I love that it is Christ centered, and that it’s existence is purely to support and strengthen families.
I find it odd that we can’t find a church where we feel… well, I was going to say comfortable, but I’m not really looking for comfort in a church. We can’t seem to find a church where we feel like the hearts of people there are trying to worship God and minister to the community, regardless of the community’s beliefs, backgrounds or economic status. And where the singing is good. (I’m so not into the being entertained feeling I get from all the contemporary worship services we’ve been to, and the traditional ones always seem so dead. Are there no churches who just sing to the Lord??)
Maybe I’ve been looking for a church where we will be restored, supported, strengthened and established, but as Peter says, God himself is the one who does this… so then, where are the churches that God is working in? Hmmm…
Anyway, back to the odd feeling…. I find it odd that we can find no church that we feel God is truly working in, but I keep stumbling on things outside of the church, like Xylem, where that feeling is abundant! Maybe stumbling is the wrong word… we aren’t stumbling on them, God is putting them in our path. And, boy am I glad!
After the auction closed, we got to hear a few people speak about the organization and how they have helped the community last year. I think they will be doing amazing things to strengthen families in the community in the coming years as well!!
The God of all grace, who has called you to eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen and establish you. ~1 Peter 5:10
