Better Together

Our pastor, Andrew Snekvik, passed away after a two year, three month battle against Stage 4 colon cancer. He was truly loved, in part because he was amazing at focusing in on the person he was with, and really enjoying their company. He will be sorely missed. Better Together played at his funeral, and pretty much embodied everything that Andrew was about-- the idea that, if we let people into our lives, things are just a whole lot better.

The following day, our lead pastor, Dave Schmelzer, spoke about how we can think about hearing from God and experiencing healthy non-jaded faith, with particular reference to Andrew's illness, which we prayed hard for him to be healed of. The message is available here.

I was really encouraged by the idea that to be childlike means to grieve one's losses and encounter the world "as it comes". Not to get bitter and jaded over disappointments, or explain them away as somehow not really losses, but to cry. In the moving forward, there seems to be something that God does to keep us whole but not hardened.

Here in Boston we're so intellectual that the world's issues press heavily and it seems irresponsible or naive to be happy. I like the idea that I can be- for want of a better word- cheerful.