LIFE
As you get older, you begin to feel how quickly that las quarter of each year passes by. There's something about transitioning from summer to fall. Thanksgiving is upon us and then we're in full holiday swing until the new year arrives. My adult sons began noticing this right around the age of 30. My youngest, who turns 30 in a few months has started saying, "Mom, geeze, it feels like the year just whipped by." Ahh bubby, welcome to the next phase of life. My oldest, who is 38 has started looking behind at how the past 20 years have shaped the lives of his friends and my middle son is wondering how his babies turned into hormonal teenagers.
Ahh, the cycle of life. Here I am at 63 watching it all unfold before my eyes, like my parents before me. There are days when I want to go back to when they were babies. I want to replay the memories. The Star Trek in me wants technology to create a Holodeck that I can use. As a kid watching The Jetsons, I wanted all the fancy gadgets they had in their home. Today, I have a lot of them in my own home:
- Video calls are an everyday thing.
- Robot vacuum cleaners. The Jetson's had Rosie the robot. We have Roombas.
- Flat-screen TVs
- The Jetson's used a hologram to create a Christmas tree. Holograms are used today.
- Smart watches are on nearly everyone's wrist
- The PillCam. We have pill shaped cameras that can be swallowed to show the digestive tract.
- Smart home automation and digital newspaper are all a thing these days.
December has started off peacefully and I pray it continues. There are moments when I wonder if the decision to leave my job at church was a good one. I still have peace about it. the relationship at church feels slightly, less strained. A text convo between me and my friend, who is also the Pastor's wife seems to have thawed the chill a bit. There are still lingering questions about the church as a whole, but I'm leaving that in God's hands. I don't feel a pull to leave this church. That would be a knee-jerk reaction that sadly, many Christians choose when things get rough at church. I've chosen to stay, until the Lord makes it abundantly clear that I should move on to a new church home.
I have noticed a shift in my relationship with God through all of this. It's been eye-opening to see how I managed to let things slip. Before taking the job I read and studied my Bible on my own in addition to the women's Bible study group. I dove into devotionals, and hungered for the Word. By the time I told them I was stepping down, I wasn't reading daily. I wasn't seeking God through His Word as regularly as I should. When you take that out of the Christian's life, havoc ensues. Our purpose is not to attend church and do all the things. Our purpose is to seek God with all our heart and allow Him to build an intimate relationship with each of us. I let that slide and it affected every aspect of my life.
Now, I'm back on track and going to church is joyful once more. Picking up my Bible to read isn't a chore, I can't move on in my day until I get a dose of the Word. Look, Christian life is hard, but it's so much easier when we stick to spiritual disciplines that God has laid out for us.
In 2025, we're starting a Discipleship Group program, or D-groups for short. I'm excited for the changes and cant' wait to see how the Lord moves in the church amongst our women. I'm also praying that God brings more people to our small church, but I'm thankful for the faithful few that we have each week. Life in a church plant is so different from what I've experienced. Prior to this, I attended churches that were well established for at least 20 years. My church just celebrated it's 4th anniversary.
The weather has decided that autumn is over and winter should be on display. There's snow in the forecast this week. It's only flurries but the temperatures have definitely dropped. We're in the high 20s overnight and mid 40s each day. I'm thankful that my son, who travels a lot for his job, landed in Philly safely and is in an Uber heading home to his wife and kids. I'm that mama that tracks their flights on the website Flight Aware. Between prayer and that website, I can relax because I know God has them in His hands and technology allows me to watch a little airplane shaped dot move across the country or continents. I love the time I'm living in. U used to wish for simpler times. Okay I still do because our world is a hot mess right now and I've read Revelation, it's going to get worse. But Esther 4:14 has been a verse that the Lord frequently gives me...
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?
