Dear Family and Friends of First United Methodist Church of Torrance,
As May approaches, I write to you from Korea, where I am visiting my parents. For many years, living far from home meant I often missed celebrating my birthday with them. But since last year, I have been able to return during this season and quietly resume a tradition that is very close to my heart.
Instead of receiving gifts on my birthday, I offer one. I cook miyeok-guk (Korean seaweed soup) for my mother.
In Korean tradition, mothers eat this nourishing soup after giving birth, as it is believed to help with healing and recovery. So each year on my birthday, beginning in my late twenties, I prepared this soup for her as a simple and humble way of saying, “Thank you.” Thank you for the love that brought me into this world. But after I moved to the United States, I was unable to continue this tradition for many years; and over time, I came to realize how deeply I missed those quiet, meaningful moments.
It is a simple act, but it carries deep meaning.
In a world so often filled with conflict, division, and noise, moments like this remind me of a profound truth: love still exists. Love endures. Love heals. As the Apostle John writes, “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). The self-giving, restoring, and transforming love of Christ is not just something we believe in. It is something we are called to live out each day.
After years of distance, these past two birthdays have reminded me of something I needed to hear again: love does not expire. It waits. It persists. And when we return to it, it is still there – warm, nourishing, and full of grace.
As your pastor, I carry each of you with me wherever I go. Even here, halfway around the world, I find myself thinking of our church family with deep gratitude for the love we share.
As we step into the month of May, a season that invites us to honor mothers, celebrate life, and practice gratitude, I invite you to find your own version of the “seaweed soup.” It may be a phone call to someone who feels forgotten, a word of encouragement to someone who is weary, or a quiet act of kindness that reminds someone they are seen and loved.
In these small, intentional acts, we become witnesses of Christ’s love in a world that desperately needs it.
May we enter this season ready to love boldly, tenderly, and without hesitation. Know that I am thinking of you and praying for each of you, my beloved church family.
With deep gratitude and love,
Pastor Jacob