Val Catrow
Val enjoying one of many afternoon happy hours in her front yard.
What’s your name?
Valerie Catrow—you can call me Val.
How do you spend your days? (family, work, hobbies)
I work as City Church’s administrator, a job I’ve thankfully been able to do from home during the pandemic. My husband, Ross, works in communications for public health, so he’s very busy right now, as you can imagine. Our son, JR, is in 6th grade at our neighborhood middle school, but he’s attending virtually right now and killing it. We are “bubbled” with my in-laws, Karen and Steve, who are also City Church members; being able to spend time with them is a joy. When I’m not working, I read whatever I can get my hands on and send shouty texts to my friends and co-workers.
What part of town do you live in?
We live in the Ginter Park area.
How long have you been going to City Church?
Since the first service, so 13-ish years.
How are you attending City Church these days?
We worship via the live-stream right now.
What did you expect from 2020 when it started?
Due to our son starting middle school and a pretty big surgery I had scheduled, we were expecting a lot of uncertainty and maybe a little chaos, but nothing like this!
If you could describe 2020 in three words, what words would you choose?
Relentless, revealing, humbling
What did the events of 2020 reveal to you about yourself and about Jesus?
I have always known that I like being in control, and 2020 ripped every semblance of control out of my hands...and while I’m rattled, I’m ok. Because while everything was upended last year, Jesus has been exactly the same. And even in the darkest moments of 2020, I still believed Jesus who he says he is. Throughout the year, I thought of Peter’s words from John 6 over and over again: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
Meanwhile, 2020 stripped everything down to the bone for me. Do I believe all people are made in God’s image? Do I believe Jesus died for all of us? My answer is a resounding “YES!” to both, and that must inform how I move through the world.
How have the events of 2020 pushed you to reimagine your story? How have they pushed you to reimagine your faith?
The uncertainty of 2020 cracked my heart open and pushed me to embrace the reality that God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. Some things will just never make sense to me, and that excites me now—it used to scare me. This shift has opened me up to so many things, to appreciate the wonder of God and mystery of His Son. I imagine with God now. As one who doesn’t do that naturally, it’s a wonderfully disorienting thing to experience.
Val’s husband (Ross) and son (JR) exploring in the Northside.
What is your biggest hope for 2021?
Sorry, I have three…
First, I hope we all get vaccinated soon. As someone with a chronic health condition, I cannot wait for our community to be safer for all who are “immuno-delicate.”
Second, I hope that we are all able to take the lessons we learned about ourselves and Jesus in 2020 and carry those into the next year and beyond.
And third, I really, really hope to get communion bread placed directly into my hands by one of you some day soon.