“
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” -Numbers 6:24-26
This past summer, we were on a High School Mission Trip to Denver, CO. The theme of our trip was “Make a Difference” and honestly, I believe we did. We dug huge trenches for a homeless women’s shelter to receive better water lines, we packed food, served food, and so much more. We celebrated this, and I am happy we did. But, so much more happened on this trip. And that is what I want to focus on for a minute.
We grew in a community that shared really, really big things, ‘life got real in a hurry’ type of big things. There was a moment when we could’ve just stopped the conversation, but everyone, although they were feeling the weight of the emotions leaned in and supported one another. This was one of the biggest moments of the church being the church that I have ever experienced.
Friends, life is real right now. I am not going to deny that or shy away from it. We all have emotions, worries, anxieties, and feelings that are all real and raw right now. But, we are the church, we are called to be the church. Although that is going to look different right now, we still have every opportunity to lean in, to listen, to offer hope and love. It might be through a phone call, facetime, text or email right now, but it is still real and it is still church.
So, may we all go into this ever-changing journey of life knowing that God blesses you and keeps you firmly in God’s hand of peace. We all need each other still, and we can still bring the love of Christ to one another. Check in on each other, offer each other grace and know you are a beloved child of God who knows you, your feelings, and loves you forever.
In Christ,
Jay Kiel
Director of Youth Ministry
