FURTHERING YOUR FAITH

with Pastor Linda Lund

Pastor Linda’s understanding of faith has been a lifelong evolution. Growing up in a Lutheran family, her initial view of God was as a distant, judgmental figure. “I was pretty sure I was going to go to hell,” she recalled, struggling to live up to the 10 Commandments as a child. “I had a base belief from the very beginning, but my belief as a child was of this God who was up there looking down on us, this guy with a long gray beard, an old man, and looking down on us and judging us,” Pastor Linda explained. Her family didn’t talk much about faith, leaving her to grapple with feelings of inadequacy and fear of divine retribution. As Pastor Linda grew older and experienced more of life, her perspective began to shift. After marrying her husband Stan, she felt the pull to return to the church, sensing a void that needed to be filled. “It was important to go back to church, and I began to hear about this god that was not this judgmental person sitting above us, you know, reigning terror on us, but rather this God of love and mercy and grace,” she said. Pastor Linda immersed herself in the church, taking on various leadership roles. But she still felt a nagging sense that there was more for her to do. “I tried a lot of things in the church. I was the president of this large congregation for six years. I led a literacy group. I was involved with Christian education - tried everything I could think of to fill this void that was in me that needed to be filled.” Finally, the call to ministry became undeniable. “Somebody said to me, ‘Well, maybe you need to go to the seminary.’”  

I would tell people, it was like the Holy Spirit was this big, ugly, old bug on my shoulder, and I kept flicking it off, but it came back. It just came back, you know?” Despite her initial hesitation, Pastor Linda followed this prompting, enrolling at the seminary and embarking on a new chapter. The journey was not without its challenges. When Pastor Linda’s beloved husband Stan passed away suddenly, she was plunged into a “total tailspin of grief and depression.” Yet it was her faith that sustained her through this dark period. “God was there, even in those dark days when I thought he had abandoned me,” she said. “I now know that God was there every step of the way, and has brought me through everything, sometimes kicking and screaming, sometimes not the way I wanted to go, but I think it’s why I keep on doing this.” Pastor Linda’s faith has continued to deepen as she has encountered both personal and societal challenges. In the face of the uncertainty and division in the world, she finds herself helping others grapple with difficult questions. “They want to know where God is. Where is God in all of this, and why isn’t God fixing this?” she said. “That’s a hard question and not a question I really have an answer for except to say, I don’t know, but I know where God is. God is in the middle of it.”  

Now in retirement from full-time ministry, Pastor Linda is focused on “furthering her faith” - exploring ways to deepen her spiritual life as she enters a new phase. She wants to share these insights with others, to help them navigate the transitions and challenges of aging with a steadfast faith. “As I age, my body doesn’t want to do what I want it to do anymore,” Pastor Linda acknowledged. “There’s another reminder to me of how I need to hang on to that faith. I can’t be who I was. But who is it that God wants me to be now?” Through all the ups and downs, Pastor Linda’s journey has been one of evolving faith - from a child’s fear of judgment to a mature trust in God’s love and plan. Her story is a testament to the power of faith to provide strength, comfort, and purpose, no matter what life may bring.