| From the Church on the Hill by D. Eric Williams Pastor, Cottonwood Community Church pastor@CottCommChurch.com This has been a heartbreaking week. Last Thursday the Uhlenkott family and the community said their final goodbyes to Chuck. My family and I have been praying for the Uhlenkotts that God will give them comfort and minister to them in this time of grief. I pray that those who are close to the family will be guided by the Holy Spirit to show the love and compassion of Jesus in their words and actions. Chuck is a man I have known and admired throughout the 16 years we have lived on the Prairie. I am confident he is now with the Lord Jesus Christ in Eternity. A couple days after Chuck’s funeral we heard that Dave Spencer had been involved in a boating accident and was missing. At the time I am writing this, Dave has not yet been found. Upon hearing the news my family and I began to pray for the Spencers. We pray God’s hand will be upon Dave, and, regardless of what might come, God will hold Dave in his loving arms, always. We pray for Danielle and the children, Dave’s parents and siblings and the rest of the family that they too will be embraced by the strong arms of Jesus the Christ. Dave is another person I’ve known throughout the past 16 years. I remember when he would sometimes play guitar in my kid’s band and how my kids would hang out with the Spencer kids from time to time. Later, one of my sons worked at Uhlenkott Pump Service with Dave and Chuck. As it often is here on the Prairie, our lives had multiple connections that drew us together in shared experiences to one degree or another. This week’s article was supposed to be a follow-up to the discussion of “salvation with works” but after several false starts I realized my heart wasn’t in it. Instead, I’ve been thinking about the fragility of human life. I’ve been thinking about the centrality of Jesus Christ and how he is our only reason for hope. I’ve been giving thanks that in Jesus there is the confidence of eternity. And I’ve been thinking about the Uhlenkotts and Spencers, praying that God’s love and grace will be poured out in abundance upon both families. I know I speak for the entire community when I tell both families, we love you and we pray God will keep you in his care.
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