{"id":832,"date":"2008-07-19T21:11:19","date_gmt":"2008-07-19T21:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml"},"modified":"2021-05-29T02:45:29","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T02:45:29","slug":"jess_communion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml","title":{"rendered":"Jess’ Communion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back on June 29th, Mat and Jess Richards (you may remember Mat<\/a>) gave the communion talk. What Jess had to say moved me, because the story she told was months old and hadn’t directly affected her. Yet, she shared with tears how it pointed her, and continued to point her, to Christ. The story had moved me at the time, but I had forgotten it. Jess hadn’t and because of that, God once again can use it to draw us to Him. With her permission, here is what she shared:<\/em><\/p>\n

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.<\/p>\n

Romans 5:6-11 New Living Translation<\/em><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sometimes things happen that cause us to think about God in a different way. One such thing happened to me a couple months ago and it has been on my heart to share since then.
\nOn April 11th the following story was printed in the Columbus Dispatch:<\/p>\n

The 8-year-old boy lay in an intensive care unit bed last night, swathed in bandages, hooked to machines and comforted by relatives.
\nSecond-grader Christian Engle, suffering broken bones and a concussion, hardly stirred. He held his mother’s hand with his left hand, the good one. Much of his right side wasn’t so fortunate. The injuries were serious, but he was alive. He has Dianna L. Sharp to thank. Sharp took her role as a Hilliard school crossing guard seriously.
\nAs the crossing guard at Scioto-Darby Elementary School, she would usher her young charges safely across Scioto Darby Road each morning and again each afternoon, parents and neighbors said. And some of those children would take the short walk to Sharp’s home after school, where she would keep them safe until their parents could pick them up, they said.
\nYesterday, shortly after 9 a.m., Sharp paid the ultimate price as a protector of those children. Realizing that a dump truck bearing down on her and Christian was not going to stop, Sharp either pushed the second-grader clear or shielded him with her own body as the truck slammed into them in a crosswalk in front of the school, Hilliard Police Chief Rodney Garnett said.
\nSharp, 41, was flown to Ohio State University Medical Center with severe head injuries. She died there at 10:20 a.m.
\nChristian’s condition had improved from critical to poor last night at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
\n“She went to swoop him to break the impact,” parent Ginger Swank said. “I believe she saved that little boy’s life.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the time I was working as a tutor at one of the high schools in Hilliard. The district notified all employees by e-mail shortly after the accident. I remember thinking about how awful it was. I remember being in awe of the sacrifice she made to save a little boys life.
\nI spent the rest of the day thinking about what happened. In the middle of the night that night I woke up very upset. The whole situation really affected me and I didn’t even know the woman.
\nI have thought about her many times since then. I think about what her family must be going through to lose a wife or a mother or a daughter or a sister.
\nI think about what the little boy’s parents must feel. Their son is alive because a woman sacrificed her life for him. What would they say to her husband and children?
\nAnother question that comes to mind is “Would I have done the same thing?” I’d like to think I would, but I can’t say for sure. I can’t picture myself jumping out in front of any moving vehicle, especially a dump truck.
\nMaybe I would for a child. I hope I would for a child. Would I for an adult that is a stranger? Would I do it for an elderly person? Would I do it for a man that I just saw steal a woman’s purse? In what situation would I be willing to risk dying for someone else?
\nWill the little boy grow up understanding that he is alive because someone died for him? How will his knowledge of her sacrifice affect his life?
\nDiana Sharp’s sacrifice has been in my thoughts for almost three months now. What she did has caused me to reflect on the sacrifice Jesus made for me. I understand in my head that Jesus died for me, but I don’t always understand it in my heart. It doesn’t always seem real. I was so worked up over this woman and her sacrifice, but why don’t I always feel that way about the ultimate sacrifice that was made? The one that was made for me.
\nI change my questions. How would Jesus’ father feel about losing a son? And then I remember that God sent his Son to die for me.
\nHow do I feel about Jesus dying so that I can live? What do I say to His father?
\nAnd then the really hard part to wrap my brain around: the fact that God willingly sent his son to die for me while I was His enemy. I didn’t do anything to deserve it. Will I grow up as a disciple understanding in my heart, and not just my mind, that I am alive because Jesus died for me? How will my understanding of His sacrifice affect my life? I hope that it does.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back on June 29th, Mat and Jess Richards (you may remember Mat) gave the communion talk. What Jess had to say moved me, because the story she told was monthsRead More Jess’ Communion<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nJess' Communion - salguod.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jess' Communion - salguod.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Back on June 29th, Mat and Jess Richards (you may remember Mat) gave the communion talk. What Jess had to say moved me, because the story she told was monthsRead More Jess’ Communion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"salguod.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-07-19T21:11:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-29T02:45:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Doug Schaefer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@salguod\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Doug Schaefer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml\",\"name\":\"Jess' Communion - salguod.net\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-07-19T21:11:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-29T02:45:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2237e297e41300051087d8791343043f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jess’ Communion\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"salguod.net\",\"description\":\"Stuff I Think Up\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2237e297e41300051087d8791343043f\",\"name\":\"Doug Schaefer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8dde291ac4514740353f4bb9cbd9418?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8dde291ac4514740353f4bb9cbd9418?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Doug Schaefer\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/salguod.net\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/salguod\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/author\/salguod\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jess' Communion - salguod.net","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Jess' Communion - salguod.net","og_description":"Back on June 29th, Mat and Jess Richards (you may remember Mat) gave the communion talk. What Jess had to say moved me, because the story she told was monthsRead More Jess’ Communion","og_url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml","og_site_name":"salguod.net","article_published_time":"2008-07-19T21:11:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-05-29T02:45:29+00:00","author":"Doug Schaefer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@salguod","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Doug Schaefer","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml","url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml","name":"Jess' Communion - salguod.net","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-07-19T21:11:19+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-29T02:45:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2237e297e41300051087d8791343043f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/jess_communion.shtml#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Jess’ Communion"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/","name":"salguod.net","description":"Stuff I Think Up","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2237e297e41300051087d8791343043f","name":"Doug Schaefer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8dde291ac4514740353f4bb9cbd9418?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8dde291ac4514740353f4bb9cbd9418?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Doug Schaefer"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/salguod.net","https:\/\/twitter.com\/salguod"],"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/author\/salguod"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":669,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2007\/05\/a_good_sunday.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":832,"position":0},"title":"A Good Sunday","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"May 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"This past Sunday, the Holy Spirit was at work. No, there was no fire from heaven or anything like that, it was just how the service came together on a theme of God teaching us through suffering. It wasn't planned, at least not by us anyway. You can listen to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family and Friends"","block_context":{"text":"Family and Friends","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/family-and-friends"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":668,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2007\/04\/an_update.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":832,"position":1},"title":"An Update on Mat …","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"April 28, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I wanted to give an update for those who are praying for Mat (One 'T', I had that wrong before.) First, thank you to those across the country praying for him. It's been encouraging, as was this news from Mat, through his fiance, Jess: Mat has said this week that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "God and Church"","block_context":{"text":"God and Church","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/god-and-church"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":686,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2007\/06\/good_news_shari.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":832,"position":2},"title":"Good News Sharing","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"June 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night at our midweek service, we simply had a session of good news sharing. This is a tried and true ICOC tradition that would degrade at times into \"I did a good deed\" sharing instead. However, while giving the congregation an opportunity to share what God's doing can be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "God and Church"","block_context":{"text":"God and Church","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/god-and-church"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":860,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2008\/10\/sad_things_come_in_threes.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":832,"position":3},"title":"Sad Things Come In Threes","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"October 9, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Last July, I wrote about loosing my wife's cat of 15.5 years. It was hard, but the pain was tempered by the long time she was with us and the understanding that she was sick and hurting and her time had come. At the time I mentioned in passing that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family and Friends"","block_context":{"text":"Family and Friends","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/family-and-friends"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.salguod.net\/weblog\/assets_c\/2009\/03\/midnight_2004-thumb-200x266-1350.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":985,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2009\/11\/i_need_more_than_a_clean_slate.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":832,"position":4},"title":"I Need More Than a Clean Slate","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"November 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"A common idea among Christians is that Jesus came and wiped our slate clean, washed us of our iniquities, cleaned us with his blood. It was recently pointed out to me that that's not really accurate, or at least it's incomplete, through a communion message by Mark Suyat (I hope\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "God and Church"","block_context":{"text":"God and Church","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/god-and-church"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":943,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2009\/05\/romans5_-_while_we_wre_still_sinners.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":832,"position":5},"title":"Romans:5 – While We Wre Still Sinners","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"May 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Romans 5:1 - \"... we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.\" Now there's good news! Romans 5:2-5 - Paul says more than rejoicing in the \"hope of the glory of God\", we rejoice in our sufferings. Rejoice in suffering more than in hope? What? But look at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Quiet Time Journal"","block_context":{"text":"Quiet Time Journal","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/quiet-time-journal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1448,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832\/revisions\/1448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}