Dear Members and Friends of Our Redeemer,
The above photo is from a weekend trip that Scott and I took to Washington. It was a beautiful weekend and one of the relaxing things we did was to float with some friends (and lots of others) down the Snoqualmie River. We bought the floaties at Dick’s here in Oxnard and so thought that this would be a very inexpensive and relaxing afternoon.
It was relaxing…but not inexpensive. That’s because Scott had our rental car key in his shorts pocket and while we floated over mini rapids, the key fell out of his pocket. When he first told us of this we thought he was joking. Unfortunately not!
At this point, we had a choice. We could worry and stress about the lost key, or we could not worry about something that we could not fix at the time (we couldn’t get off the river until the endpoint where our now keyless car awaited). We chose to enjoy ourselves the best we could.
I say “the best we could” because the reality is that whenever most of us have a problem on the horizon, we are not able to completely put off thinking about it. This was an instance of “best we could” being good enough. I wonder if that is the case for most things that worry us. For instance, we know something unpleasant or stressful is going to happen. What do we do? We choose. Do I let that stressful thing that is in the future ruin my present or do I wait to deal with it when it happens? Learning to wait is the healthier choice.
Ultimately, we finished our float down the river and then had to wait in the waning light for a key to be brought. It was starting to get chilly, so we looked a bit hilarious as we kept moving to stay in what was left of the late afternoon sun. Once we got a replacement key (not cheap!) we took our friends to their car and then all together went and enjoyed dinner and a few beers. Now we have a memory!
I share this story because I think it’s a wonderful example of a choice that we often have before us. Do we let the worries of the future rob of us enjoyment for the present? Even if that future is just a few hours away? Or weeks? Or months? Or years?
We often worry about the future of the church. Some of you have talked to me about this worry and share with me your stories of when the building was bulging at the seams with people and children. I, coming to a faith life as an adult, have no experience of this, and I love to hear your stories. I think that if we looked back beyond the stories, we would also see that those days also had their worries. What can we do? Enjoy the present while being faithful to God’s invitation, God’s call really, to love our neighbors as we love God and love ourselves. While doing this we will be creating some wonderful memories.
One such opportunity for loving our neighbors is to help with our new tutoring ministry. We plan to start in September, helping some of the students at the school down the street. Please join in and create memories.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nancy
