A Birthday To Remember

This was truly a birthday weekend to remember. My sister took the picture below and said it was the perfect summary of my birthday this year: looking at a sad happy birthday balloon stuck in a tree. But in that moment, I was looking at that sad little balloon thinking how incredibly blessed I was to be surrounded by my awesome roomies, my friends, my family...at the park, eating ice cream (though it was freezing cold), and knowing that everything, somehow, is going to be okay.

I turned 29 this weekend and it was also the 5 year anniversary of my returning to Christ. And in the midst of COVID-19 uncertainty and craziness...social distancing...and the impending feeling (most likely from watching WAY too many apocalyptic/zombie movies) that as I am running outside, a group of lifeless zombies are going to turn the corner and chase me down the street...it was actually one of the very best, most special weekends I’ve ever had.

My mom is stuck here for the time being as she is unable to get back into South Africa, to then get back into Swaziland. And her being here is in and of itself totally God, because it was very last minute, set up right before COVID-19 blew up globally. It is hard though because my dad and my other sister, Dani, are still in Swaziland and though things aren’t bad there (yet, and prayerfully do not become bad) I know it is hard for them to be apart. That being said, I am thankful for this time we get to be together for however long she has to be here. My littlest sister, Jo, is also staying with me right now because she was staying with my grandparents while finishing nursing school and we want to keep them as safe as possible.

Since I’ve lived here in Baltimore, seeing and spending time with my grandparents has been such a part of life. I’m there at least once a week hanging out with and enjoying grandma’s cooking. Sometimes I just pack up my stuff and move in for a week or two when I really just want to be around family. It has been really weird not to be able to just go over there and see them. On Friday evening we did get creative, though. We had pizza delivered, wore gloves, brought hand sanitizer, and set up the picnic table outside. They sat on one end of the picnic table, my mom, Jo and I on the other, with the wind blowing towards us so that our germs weren’t blowing their way. At one point my nose started to itch (of course, because when you can’t touch your face, all of a sudden every facial body part itches) and Joelle held up her arm for me to scratch my nose. Grandma laughed so hard I think she nearly choked on her pizza. It was good to see them laugh and smile. 

On Saturday, our friend Tammy came to Baltimore from Michigan to spend time with us. The story of how we met is another really cool God story that could and should take its very own blog post. Short story long, as she would say, she was in the Peace Corps in Swaziland a few years ago and came across my book. God spoke to her through my book and she emailed me as soon as she finished it, not expecting a response. I happened to be sitting at my computer when the email came through and was in need of some encouragement that day. God used her to speak to me as He had just used my story to speak to her. She told me she went to a particular church in Swaziland, and my parents happened to go to this same church so I described what they looked like and basically invited her to their house (lol). She found them at church one Sunday, asked if they were my parents and introduced herself to them. They became instant family and Tammy was soon another Rehmeyer kiddo, spending weekends there with my parents throughout the remainder of her time in Swaziland. God also called her out of the homosexual lifestyle and radically changed her life. There is so much more in between, but I am waiting for her book to come out one day soon and I will just share that :). 

Back to Saturday. On Saturday morning I went for a run and prayed (instead of thinking about zombies). It was such a beautiful day. We were supposed to have a family get together with my grandparents and cousins and a few friends for my b-day and also for Joelle’s baby gender reveal. All of those plans had to be canceled, obviously, so we were a little bummed. However, we have an AWESOME friend at church who is an AWESOME baker and she made a birthday/gender reveal cake for the celebration, so Joelle went to pick this up while I ran. My mom and one of my roomies went for a walk and shortly after we all returned home, Tammy arrived! We got busy cooking breakfast- banana oatmeal pancakes, regular pancakes, eggs, sausage, berries, COFFEE! And then we prepared for the gender reveal because we had to facetime people in who were in Swaziland and it was much later there, so we wanted to make sure to catch them before their bedtime.

I called my dad, Dani, Nathanael, and Grandma on one phone video chat and then my brother-in-law, Nedu on the other. My mom face timed her mom (our Mimi) in and Tammy recorded the whole thing. So all 6 of us, (roomies- who are basically family- included) went outside on the back porch and Joelle made a little speech about how she would love her kid whether it was a boy or a girl. She was wearing pink, thinking 150% it was a girl, but at the last minute threw on a blue scarf, just in case. We were all mostly wearing pink too. She had a powder explosion thing that she bought at the ultrasound, but we didn’t know what color the powder was. When she set it off, BLUE powder exploded into the air and I think she nearly passed out! We were all so surprised, thinking for sure she was having a girl! We all screamed and I think my neighbors thought someone had been shot. They peeked out the back door and then went back in when they realized we were laughing (and not breaking the more than 10 people rule). It was hilarious! Then we went inside and ate breakfast, all excitedly talking and enjoying one another’s company. I am so looking forward to meeting my nephew in a few months!

On Sunday morning all 6 of us gathered in the living room, coffee in hand, to watch Highland Community Church’s live sermon. My Pastor’s family led worship on stage and you would have thought they had a full church in front of them. They worshipped and Pastor Brad preached as if we were all there...but really, it was for an audience of One. I know Jesus was there and was pleased. He preached about John 11, the death and resurrection of Lazarus, and how many times Jesus doesn’t answer prayer or respond to us as we think He should...but how He always, always does what is best for us and what brings glory to His Name. Sometimes things suck, like now. And we don’t understand. But we can trust Him! He didn’t promise things would be easy, in fact, He promised just the opposite...but He did promise that He would be our peace and that He would never leave us. 

We then had our own time of worship and reflected together on the sermon and on all that is going on, as we passed the box of tissues around the room. We made breakfast (well, lunch at this point) together and went to Patterson Park for a walk. It was such a special day. I couldn’t help but thank God for His goodness. For the way He is drawing hearts together in and through all of this. That He is not limited by any disease or our ability or inability to physically get together in a church building. 

This weekend, we were the church. This weekend, we were together and Jesus was in our midst in every conversation, meal and activity. In the midst of all the crazy, as we are learning to be creative in the ways we socialize and show love to one another, as we are learning to practice social distancing to protect ourselves and those we love. He is teaching us to be His hands and feet in creative ways. He is teaching us that we do not have to have a building with hundreds or thousands of people congregating weekly or a few times a week to “be the church”. It goes beyond this. It is in a simple text or phone call to someone who maybe has to be more isolated than others right now due to health issues or age. It is in stopping by to say "hi", outside, 6 feet apart, through the window or sharing a meal (CAREFULLY) so that those we love know they are not alone or forgotten. It is stopping to appreciate and treasure those who are around you, who maybe we have taken for granted or become so used to their presence but never really taken the time to know them, to enjoy their company, to remind them how loved they are by a God who is never distant. 

There are so many opportunities to reach out right now. So many people are struggling as they face uncertainty and unemployment. Fear is heavy and looming above and among our communities world-wide. I went to get my hair cut today and the lady who cut my hair was sobbing when I went in because she may have to shut her business down for good. She simply can’t pay the bills without customers, and then found out that after 5pm today all non-essential businesses have to close down for the next few weeks. How can we love on and support those in our neighborhoods and communities who are really hurting right now?

Just in case you needed reminding: our God is still in control and He is still working. No matter what may come or how bad this gets. He is near- He does not have to follow the 6ft rule! He is all up in your space! And He is not done yet. Lord, show us how to be Your hands and feet. Empower us in and by Your Spirit and put a boldness in us to do whatever it is You would have us do in this season to love and to love well.