Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light." (John 12:35-36a)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I hope.
As we move into this new year of 2022, one wonders what we will encounter and will it be better than 2020 and 2021? It has to, doesn't it? This is my state of mind at this time. But, I got some wonderful encouragement from our president. No, not Joe. Holly Batstone said to me, "It is time to stop blaming COVID-19 for inaction. It is time to adapt and change for the new reality God has called us into."
This felt like a kick in the pants. One, that was well deserved.
We just came through a time of chaos and are now fully into a new era. This does indeed call us to adapt and change. And in many ways we have already. We are now broadcasting our worship services over the web, we host our committee meetings, education opportunities via Zoom, and we have become more attuned to our fellow members and their needs. The question to us in 2022 is what are we being called into in this new era?
I immediately react to this question by going to our Vision 2025 fourth goal: We desire to be partners with our community to promote the well-being of our neighbors. How does this new era challenge us to help this community recover and move on from the chaos of the last two years? It is our call to provide a sense of order and promise in this time. I think that our Vision 2025 project will indeed give us direction.
We can walk into the future because we have the light of Jesus to lead us through the chaos. We are not asked to run through or climb over our struggles. We are called to walk. That sounds doable to me.
A prayer for the New Year:
O God, you have been our help in ages past, our hope for years to come. As we welcome this new year, bless us with peace. Fill our days with the light of Christ and lead us on the path of life until we see you in our heavenly home. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
