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Many of you know our friends, Philip and Robyn Serez. After many years of working with Multiply as a Mission Mobilizer, Philip was diagnosed with ALS in 2020. It is a rare neurological disease for which there is no known cure. In the face of suffering, Philip continues to put his hope in God. His faith has been such an inspiration to me and to many others.
In recent months, Philip’s condition has reached the point where he is completely dependent on family members and requires considerable help from personal support workers. Recently, while one of these workers was helping Philip in his home, she surprised him with an enthusiastic outburst.
“I love coming to your home!” the worker exclaimed. “I walk in and it’s… it’s like… like jingle bells! Everybody is together and helping. In most homes, they just expect us to do our jobs. Your home is different, it’s a bit like the homes in my own culture in India, but—with bells!”
Philip and Robyn insist that it’s not because they are such nice people. It’s not that they have brighter windows, or that they are always so happy. No, none of those qualities could survive the onslaught of grief that comes with a diagnosis of ALS. Instead, the Serez family insists that the jingle is Jesus.
This beautiful testimony from a support worker in the Serez home is simply evidence of what happens when God replaces hardened hearts with soft, pulsing ones. As it says in Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” It’s just what happens when we allow God’s Spirit to transform everything about us. That support worker was just catching a glimpse of what Jesus called the kingdom of God.
So, after the personal support worker helped Philip, Robyn then took the opportunity to share about how Jesus is making a difference in the Serez family, even as they face incredible challenges of a degenerative disease.
Whatever time of year, the world needs more jingle bells. The world needs Jesus.
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