09-11-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
September 11, 2024
Today is my wife’s birthday. She is celebrating it as most people celebrate a new year of life—she is getting a crown. No! Not one that you wear on your head but that requires a dentist. Happy birthday! With all seriousness, I think about this day as a microcosm of life. In a 24-hour period, we can have some wonderful celebrations, spend a lot of money on something unenjoyable, deal with a difficulty at work, laugh with a friend on the phone, listen to a song that brings joyful memories, receive six emails about a protection plan for a car you haven’t owned in more than a decade, and read a few chapters in a wonderful book. Life is rarely lived in a silo, and as people of faith, I believe there is a basic conviction that God is present to us in every moment, even when a good moment is followed by a painful moment and then followed by a rather mundane moment. God cares about the fullness of our lives, and so wherever you are in this very moment, know that you are loved beyond measure in just the same way that you will be loved 30 minutes from now no matter how much things may or may not have changed.

As I ride the roller coaster of life, thanks for riding it with me, Gracious God, and for affirming me at every turn. Amen.