In God's Time

Dear Friends in Christ -

As you read in this blog last week, I've been praying for a fresh blessing. Not one for myself (though I'll always take them when and where I can get them!) but one for our parish. I felt like the blessing that God had been giving us at the end of the 10:00 a.m. service was growing faint in our ears from over-familiarity. So on the dawn of a new year, I was praying for a fresh blessing, one that would stir our hearts God-ward in new ways.

By last Sunday, God had spoken to me the beginning of a blessing, but not the whole thing . . . it wasn't until early this morning that God filled in the blanks and spoke the rest of His blessing for us. And wouldn't you know, it was on a day when we really needed an extra blessing. Our beloved Director of Youth Ministries, Leslie, has resigned to follow a dream she's had for 30 years - to own and operate her own beauty salon. While it's easy to wish Leslie well, it's hard to come to grips with missing her presence in the vital role she has had in the lives of our youth and their families.

There are no accidents with God. His timing is always perfect. On a day when we all really needed it, God came through with a great blessing for us all. I really believe it speaks God's heart for us in the midst of what will now be a season of transition - of grief and celebration (celebration, by the way, is the spiritual discipline for this week, another sign of the Spirit among us).

Here's the blessing, which I pray we will all steep ourselves in:

May God give you grace
to try and to fail,
to strive and to succeed,
to dream the dreams of God and
to trust him to lead you to the fulfillment of those dreams,
that you may flourish and the world may know God’s glory
now and forever.
Amen.

Faithfully yours,
Janet+