Winter

As I write this, I am looking out my window at the snow coming down. For us, like many of you, in the last several hours we’ve had snow, sleet, freezing rain, rain (even a little lightning), more snow . . . and lots of wind. And, even though I know that tomorrow we will have to venture out and plow the excess away, today I marvel at the beauty of the pine tree, with its bird’s nest, and the field behind my house where little creatures live and deer come to forage. How pure and white the world seems now; how protective and nurturing, while covering the ice, the mud and cornstalks. Kind of like life!

In a similar way, as we work in the church as volunteers or professionals, we experience the layers of the storm – sometimes good and pure and sometimes a little rough and bumpy with its excesses and aftermath. We meet people where they are, looking lovely and pure on the surface, but often with heavy loads and burdens that are hidden. Some days we experience the joy as a child who is baptized or recites a learned Bible verse. Some days we face the reality of a family that is separating or abuse or . . . you fill in the blank. The daily life of the people we serve and love. How do we make sense of all this?

One of my favorite Bible verses is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Here the “Teacher” reminds us that there is an order to life. Then, in verse 11, he tells us that “he (God) has “made everything suitable for its time . . .” We don’t always have answers to the questions of life, but then we don’t always need to have answers. We just need to trust that God has a plan and we can rest assured that we are part of that plan!