14 Oct I’m BACK!
I’m BACK!
Well…I think the jet lag has faded & my mind, body & spirit are all in the same time zone…finally! This trip seemed more difficult than many of the others. I don’t think my advancing age had as much to do with it as it was the things this trip required & which were fully out of my control.
I caught the XPT from Wagga to Sydney…it was about 2 hours late in reaching Wagga from Melbourne. That meant I didn’t get to Sydney until almost 10:00 p.m. That seemed to set the theme for every mode of transport. My plane was also about 2 hours delayed getting off the ground…any number of reasons for that according to the airline. That didn’t throw off any of my subsequent plans, but anyone trying to make a connecting flight was in a bind, and you could tell in the conversations on board over the next 15 hours…some folks were stressed & rightly so.
My sister’s travel from Texas to California was similarly unsettled…both her flights were off-schedule which meant she arrived home much later than she anticipated on a barely staffed flight. My homeward journey was also about 2 hours late to board, and the air conditioning on-board wasn’t working until we were able to get airborne and all the electrical systems operating…it was hot until it was freezing cold. And then our arrival was of course later than anticipated.
I was reminded over & over again throughout my time away that as advanced as our Western civilization is, with as much technological know-how as we have at our disposal…things still go awry. We are, every day, vulnerable to circumstances & conditions that we cannot control. We are regularly, throughout our lives, exposed to situations & complications that appear as threats to our wellbeing & sense of stability. And…we can do little to nothing about them. How do you feel about that? Like some on my flight, as the complications added one to another, there was stress, frustration & no small degree of anger. At times, the anxiousness alone was obvious in the faces & voices of my fellow travellers. I was thankful that I was only making one flight instead of several connected ones…but even I was disoriented at times trying to make sense of the various difficulties.
I mentioned to some of you Sunday that my time in Texas was blessed in spite of obvious struggles. I was glad that as part of my daily Bible reading I had Isaiah’s wisdom to guide me: This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength…For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.” – Isaiah 30:15 & 18 – When the world seems to muster all its forces to disrupt our lives…we have a refuge & strength greater than our stress & struggle. We have a God who works for our good in all things at all times. We have His hands holding us…out of which nothing can snatch us away.
Let’s lean into those hands this week…together:
- Sunday October 18th – we continue our worship & teaching series: Living Words. This week, “What do we mean when we say Mission?” It’s much simpler than to understand & DO than we’ve often let ourselves believe. Picture walking into a room where a number of your friends are already chatting…One of them waves you over to join the conversation. Mission is just that; Jesus calling you to join a conversation he’s already having with someone you already know.
- ALSO This Sunday…Morning Tea right after worship AND Book Club at our house! A great day in store!
- Sunday 25th October – Reformation Day! Our worship theme that morning is “Repentance,” which is precisely what Martin Luther said was the entire life of the believer. What a great day to explore that Biblical command.
- Sunday 1st November – Giving Beyond Ourselves & Morning Tea – Before you know it…we’ll be looking at Christmas!
God bless you with his peace!
John
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