Thank you, and goodbye

Today's Thanksgiving. And on the heels of being thankful, comes waiting for Jesus. And waiting to say goodbye.

On this day, Ron & I are thankful for our home of over 25 years, our children and grandchildren, our dear friends, our church. On this day too, we are thankful for God's hand on our lives, as we anticipate our move to Florida where I begin a new call in January. The Lord has made straight the path for us, though it is with deep and mixed emotions that we tread upon it. On this Thanksgiving Day, we are not prepared quite yet to leave.

Yet, it is a blessing that this is all happening at this time of the year.

You see Advent is a time of preparation. That first Advent, people prepared for the birth of a child save us, and lead us. So as his disciples, we are always preparing for His coming to us, guiding, loving and caring for us, as he calls us to follow Him.

The gospels we shall read this month remind us that we do not always know the hour or the timing of God coming among us. Nor do we always know what He is preparing us for. With the coming of Christ in our lives, we live in a tension between certainty and expectation. Between status quo and radical change. Between going or staying. Between hello and goodbye. When we truly prepare for Jesus to come into our lives, and when we truly receive Him as Savior and Lord, our lives are not our own. And we are never the same again. For that, I am thankful on this day for I do not go alone.

A poem for you all from me:

Waiting with expectation for what I do not know

Except that it will not be without wonder

I step out on the path before me on a misty night

Following the sound I know well but cannot hear.

I am prepared because I am uncertain but not afraid

I see his wee footsteps in the mud

and feel him behind me and now

I hold the hand I cannot touch.

I am not prepared in my softer places to leave

As He was not but went all the same

Preparing the leave-taking just so in due time

Caressing the sadness with a purpose I cannot speak of.

Making straight the crooked path He leads me

Into wonder and joyful sadness to be

A little Christ who steps out on the path to life

Eternal and with the One I love but cannot hold

Until then.

Happy Thanksgiving as we wait for Jesus to come,

Pastor Lyn

They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love...even in an election year

I have attached below an article forwarded to me this morning from the Wall Street Journal. I find it compelling not because I am trying to be political, or am blind to the problems of this administration, but because of the way people have expressed their anxiety toward our President in our unprecedented and very troubled times. I agree with the author’s opinion, who served on John Kerry’s campaign staff in 2004.

I urge you to remember that not one person is responsible for all our troubles. Not one person can solve them. President Bush is not perfect, but he was right when he said we must all work together to make this nation right and safe and prosperous. And when evil and tragedy is out of our control, let us be on our knees, rather than throw stones. I daresay this is true in every aspect of our lives.

May God bless our new President as we Christian Americans come together and show the world that we are unified, strong and faithful to the tenets of liberty, justice, peace and opportunity for all in this great nation and the world. And when troubles come here and around the world that affect our lives, which they have and will under every administration, may we express our discontent with more grace and forbearance than we have seen in recent times. People all over the globe are watching how Christians participate in the political process, and can learn about Jesus in how we submit to our leaders with respect, challenge them with grace, and do all things in love, to the glory of the Creator of the world and Lord of all nations.

Pastor Lyn

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251.html