hope

Anchored…


This has been a strange week. All my routines are out of whack. I’ve been very tired and not able to do much more exercise than the morning’s hour-long walk with Koski and our walking-partner. I had an all-day conference today, which meant I took Thursday off and worked today. My folks are in town. Things are just a little left-of-centre in my house right now.

There is nothing particularly WRONG with any of that, (well, the exercise thing upsets me, though I am feeling good about getting out to Outdoor Bootcamp tonite) but as I have said before I’m a bit of a creature of habit. When you mess with my routines, you mess with me. My blogging has also suffered this week. Call it out-of-sorts-itis.

Sometimes weeks like this come. There’s no sense in getting really bent out of shape about them when they happen. But I will admit that when a week like this comes along, I feel a little anchor-less…adrift. And it is with that sense of needing something to anchor me that I found this little passage in Hebrews extremely touching today:

…we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence
as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.
It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.
Jesus has already gone in there for us.
He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:18b-20 NLT

Weeks like this come. Other weeks, ones in which the burdens of life seem almost unbearable, also come. There’s no sense worrying about them before they arrive. But when they do, it’s really good to have something to tether yourself to – something to hold to, as an anchor.
The Bible tells us that the hope we have in Christ – the hope that weeks like this will never have the final word – is a strong and trustworthy anchor.
All I can say to that is: Amen.

Beginnings…

I had the opportunity to start something new with some leaders from St. A’s tonite. I’m excited. I don’t know where God will lead us with this ministry, but I pray that God will be the ONE who does the leading.

This beginning may be small, but with God even small beginnings can lead to great things. Pray with me that this one does, if you would.

For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Isaiah 43:19 NLT

God provides…

I had reason to post on Facebook asking for a favour today, and I was overwhelmed by the response I received. I was in the midst of planning and visioning for our VBS this summer and I was thinking it would be great to have a parachute to use with the kids. So I started pricing them out – those suckers are expensive (not terribly so, but enough to make me pause and consider other possibilities before purchasing one). I decided to send out a general appeal on Facebook for one that could be borrowed for the week of VBS. Within 10hrs of posting I have received 4 offers and a link to a place where I could purchase one.

I barely even put any effort into solving this problem, and found that God was ready and willing to provide.

Sometimes I think we are too good at solving our own problems. Sometimes we don’t allow God to be God. My parachute example is a small one, but I would love to see what God could do if we, in faith, handed him some of our really big problems.

I think God loves to provide and God loves to overwhelm us. I mean, really, that is what the story of Jesus is about. That at the moment that looked like utter defeat, God was actually bringing victory. At the moment when it looked like the Jesus movement was over, it was actually just beginning. At the moment of death, new life was given the chance to burst forth. And the disciples could hardly believe it when it happened.

It can be scary to hand over our big problems to God – it may lead us where we do not want to go, it may lead us to the cross. But I believe it will also lead us beyond the cross to Easter morning and the absolutely shocking goodness and mercy of our Loving Father God.

Hope

If you’ve been following my blog this week, you know it’s been a tough week for me. So this is my second post in 6 days about hope. Because really, it’s what I’ve got to cling to right now. Hope.

I used Google Images to look up hope a few minutes ago, and here is the best image I found:

 

 

This image reminds me of a favorite Bible Verse: And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out. (John 1:5 ISV)

John is writing about Jesus, the light of the world.

That’s what I need remember and that is the truth I need to share with those who are traveling through difficult times right now. For those of you who have sent me worried emails and texts – thank you. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and your prayers. I promise I am ok, just bearing up under a heavy load. And even here, struggling under this weight, there is so much for which to give thanks. Most especially that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out. Amen.

Inner Circle…

Tonite was the second Weight Watchers Party with some of my colleagues who are also trying to lose weight. We get together once a month and every body brings somethings WW friendly. Then we have a meal and talk about where we are at – in our ministry, with our WW journey, with life in general.

Tonite we had some good old-fashioned (or maybe new-fashioned?) girl-talk. And it was awesome. There are some people you just know you can trust with the honest truth about all things. And these girls are some of those people for me.

I am struck by the idea of how important it is to have an inner circle. Some folks with whom you can just be 100% you. I am blessed to include a number of folks in my inner circle. Some of them interact with each other, some of them have never met and the only thing they have in common is that they know me. Either way, it is good to know there are those who I can turn to when I just need to talk.

Jesus had an inner circle, too. They were less than perfect. They sometimes completely missed the point about where his life was leading. They abandoned him at his most painful hour. And yet he trusted them. And through them, the message spread. Through them the world came to know about the resurrection and the new life available through Christ.

I was reminded today that they were just “12 ordinary men,” but the face of history was changed by them. And in that I find a great sense of hope. Jesus doesn’t need perfect people. He doesn’t need people who’ve got it all together or who get it right all the time. He needs people who care and people who want to share what they’ve found with others.

He can do the rest.

I. Love. My. Church!

Last week was a tough week – some meetings and some difficult health news about a beloved congregant had me down. I struggled to stick to my Weight Watchers points (being an emotional eater), I was tired, my throat started to get sore. It was just a drag of a week. There were bright spots in the midst of the gloom, but I still struggled against the gloom. And you can see that, if you read over my blogs for the week.

But this morning, it was like God took my hand and whispered to me “Despite the difficulties you face in ministry, I’m going to remind you how much you love this place and these people.” And I sat in worship, amazed. I looked around and thought about the more-than-a-year I have spent with this congregation. I thought about conversations we’ve had and moments we’ve shared. I remembered tough moments that we made it through together. I remembered heart breaks and moments of triumph.

And it was so good. God is so good. I feel like I woke up to a sunny day after a week of rain.

I am blessed.

Hope…

Generally, I am a pretty upbeat person. I tend to see the possibility or potential in most people and situations. I like to laugh (which is probably why I have so many friends that are real jokers) and I smile. A lot.

But every once in a while I find myself overwhelmed by difficult conversations or situations. They drag on me and rob me of my general joie-de-vivre. This has been one of those weeks. It just seems like one thing has piled on top of another this week and none of the things piling up have been easy dealt with.

When this happens, I often make a mistake. My favorite Christian singer/songwriter puts it this way:

Well, I realize that falling down ain’t graceful
But I thank the Lord that falling’s full of grace
Sometimes I take my eyes off Jesus
And you know that’s all it takes
–Andrew Peterson, The Chasing Song

In hard times, I admit, I find it all too easy to take my eyes off Jesus…and you know – that is all it takes.

That is all it takes for me to stumble. That is all it takes for me to become overwhelmed. That is all it takes for me to lose sight of hope.

And it is a dangerous place to be. It is a place where Satan whispers all sorts of terrible things in my ear and I lean toward believing them. It is a place where my fear-and-anxiety monster grows because I have begun to feed him well. It is a place where I am easily defeated because I have forgotten the victory I have in Jesus.

And yet the grace of God is this: in that dark place, as I begin to lose hope, Jesus shows up and extends his hand to me. This week that happened when I received a lovely card from my folks. They wished me me a Happy Easter and included a Starbucks card (they know my addictions well). And it was just like a breeze blew through my spirit, carrying away the dark clouds away.

The week didn’t get instantly easier, I have still had some tough moments to face…but I faced them with hope and I was not overwhelmed. And I kept my eyes on Jesus because I had been reminded of all that he has done and continues to do for me.

Peace…

This is something I am meditating on tonite. I am not sure that I can articulate my thoughts on it yet…so I will leave it mostly without comment and just say this: I believe this is true, but that doesn’t mean I always understand HOW it is true.

Still, I pray that I can be at peace in the midst of trying circumstances by practicing the presence of Christ. I pray that for you, too!

From humble beginnings…

I have been thinking about Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed recently. Here’s what Jesus said:

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.
It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants;
it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”
Matthew 13:31-32 NLT

The Kingdom of Heaven – the place where Jesus reigns, the place where we find ourselves in relationship with him – starts small. It starts humble. The smallest of all seeds. But it grows. It grows into great things which have an impact on the world around them. The tree big enough for birds to find shelter in its branches.

I walk every day along a path with some of the greatest trees. They are huge. And as I was walking the other day I was stopped dead in my tracks by the thought that there was a time that these trees were nothing more than a tiny seed falling into good soil.

This tree, in particular, is right at the beginning of my walking route. It is a beautiful tree, and there is no arguing that it is a majestic specimen. But even this was once only a tiny seed. It took good conditions, and a whole lot of time. And now the birds can find shelter in its branches.

I think we sometimes find ourselves frustrated with time it takes for the growth to happen. I think sometimes we miss the mustard seed all together – not noticing that it has been planted, not sensing the growth process as it begins beneath the surface.

I think I have been in that kind of season recently. But tonight I have hope. Tonight, I think I have begun to glimpse the first hints of green shoots poking through the dark soil.

If you could spare a prayer for me, for the community of faith where I serve as Associate Minister, for the future of the Kingdom and for humble beginnings that grow into great trees, I would appreciate it.

Losing an hour or gaining some light?

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So tonite is the time change. This is the one most of us don’t like. We feel like we are losing an hour’s sleep. I am pretty sure there will be a lot of complaining over the next few days as we all adjust to our Spring schedule.

Personally, I am kind of stoked for the time change. Because of the weight loss I have been through, I have really been feeling the cold this winter. And it has not been a particularly cold winter. Nonetheless, I have found myself bothered by the winter months in a way I never have been before.

So I have been longing for this change. I have been longing for the extra hours of daylight and the warmer temperatures that will be headed our way.

All of the seasons have something that makes them special and beloved to me. Summer means long days, lots of time to walk and life moving at a slower pace. Fall means brilliant colours, thanksgiving and my birthday. Winter is all about Christmas and the joy of celebrating Jesus birth. And Spring…Spring means Easter, crocuses, robins, longer days, the first blush of warm weather and above all – new life. Grass beginning to green and leaves beginning to sprout. Eggs hatching and litters being born. The world (or at least my corner of it) waking up from its winter slumber and remembering what it is to breathe deep and feel alive.

For most of my life I would have said that fall was my favorite season. But I think some things are changing and Spring is becoming my favorite.

Maybe that is because I believe in a God who is all about new life. Resurrection. Hope.