Dear Friends in Christ -
Wow. What a totally amazing full-of-the-Holy-Spirit weekend. Dozens and dozens . . . nearly a couple hundred in all . . . came forward at this morning's services to rededicate their lives to Jesus. At the end of the 10:00 a.m. Eucharist, the chapel was practically rocking on its foundation as we lifted our voices together to "Shout to the Lord" in song. People were standing up to eat the yummy potluck supper because all the chairs in the parish hall were full.
Now, hours later, I'm in my home office aerie overlooking the parking lot, basking in the afterglow. Strains of "God is so good" and "waves of mercy, waves of grace; everywhere I look, I see His face" (one of our teens' favorite songs) echo in my head.
Everything in the building has been put back to rights. Except one thing. I notice that the back door is open. And I smile. It's a sign. The door's open to God now; no turning back.
And who would want to? When I'm in a worship service like the one today, I hear echoing back from fellow travelers on this Christian walk that it's hard, that we fall along the way, but it's so good to be reminded that there's a goodness to be found in God's way that doesn't exist anywhere else. Thank you for being there with me today. It was such a joy to be there with you.
Now the journey continues. As I scurried across the parking lot under my umbrella to shut the door, I had this child-like gleeful thought: God's in there now and I'm not going to let him out!
Now I just wonder: what might he do now, rattling around in new spaces in my life? In our lives together?
One place I expect to hear some answers is in our Faith Alive Follow-up Gathering this Wednesday night from 7:30-9:00 p.m. in the Chapel. (Childcare for little ones will be available.) Music, prayer, listening for what's next.
Faithfully yours,
Janet+
No comments:
Post a Comment