A Word from Pastor Jay

Going up to Pennsylvania last week was a stark reminder for me how much my opinion on weather has changed. I can remember a time when I loved cold and snow. I have fond memories of huge snowstorms and frigid temperatures and getting bundled up to go outside to play with my friends. Whether it was drawing pictures with our fingers on the ice which formed on our bedroom windows or sledding or building snowmen or football games in the snow, those moments stand out as joyful events from my youth. As I have aged, however, my inclination to enjoy snow and cold has changed. Honestly, getting away from regular snowfalls above one foot was a consideration in our choosing Virginia for a place to live. While it was cold here last week, things were even more frozen up north, and scraping my car windshield in 8 degree temperatures was a reminder of how much my thoughts and preferences have changed. I thought about that a little bit this past week, and began to ponder how much change has taken place in me as an individual. My guess is that a similar change has taken place in you as well. My food preferences now are starkly  different from when I was younger. Years ago, I was not much of a cheese person, but now I love a piece of good cheese. Broccoli has become a vegetable which I like (even though cabbage still makes me shudder). I wear more  sweaters than shirts and ties during cooler seasons. I tend to see God’s grace and love in many more places than I ever could have imagined seeing it in my early adulthood. Vacations can be pretty cool, (for years, before Jamie came into my life, I never went anywhere on vacation) even if I haven’t warmed up to sunning myself on a beach. My guess is that most of us, as we go through life, find ourselves changing in the way we see things or experience the world.  Technology, information and ready access to cultures, foods and lifestyles very different from our own cause us to examine and sometimes open ourselves up to newer ways of looking at what it means to be human. Our physical abilities or lack thereof make us shift how we deal with the world around us, as age and physical ailment limit what we are able to do. Simple, everyday human experience teaches us again and again that being human is a wonderful,  difficult, spiritual, confusing, awe-inspiring, scary, joyful, exhausting, sad, purposeful, blessed rollercoaster ride where we feel the ups and downs, the turns and spins, and come out of each part of the adventure at least partially different from when we entered. Hour by hour, day by day, as life happens and God’s gracefilled presence touches us, we continue to become. This process never ends short of the grave.

Over the course of a lifetime things change. We change. The world around us changes. I like to say that the only thing that doesn’t change is that there will be change. While not all change is positive, much of it can be a good thing. Knowing that the Holy Spirit is promised to us and that this Spirit guides us and enlightens us constantly, we can open ourselves up to the limitless possibilities God lays before us, and we can actively pursue engaging with this multi-faceted world connected to the unlimited God who claims us as His own. In other words, being the people of God in this place is an endeavor fraught with change, just as our individual lives are. Yet, open to the possibilities God lays before us as individuals and as the body of Christ here, we need not limit ourselves in who we will be and what we will do, no matter what changes happen inside or outside of us. We can listen for the Spirit to communicate with us, gently pushing us to take our ministry in directions which will make Christ’s love known in real ways in our community and in the world. This has always been the call of the church, to be God’s loving presence actively and purposefully engaging with the world, especially where there is pain, despair and darkness, so that the warmth and light and love of Christ is made known through us. We need not fear what may come, for God is with us. God has made us who we are, molded us our whole life long, and given us this mission to love and to love boldly.