Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Well, we've arrived in our new home in Erie, PA. Our things were loaded on a moving van on Monday, and after packing both cars to the gills (including our 2 dogs, 1 cat and 5 fish), we headed northward to our new home. We arrived later than we had hoped on Monday evening (close to 8:30 P.M.), and were delighted to find air mattresses inflated and made up with clean, fresh sheets. Thought and care were taken to make sure that there was a dinner, dessert and all kinds of ice cold drinks in the fridge - nothing like a frosty cold pepsi to quench your thirst! And we had REAL silverware to eat our dinner - we've been using plastic forks for nearly a week now as we packed up our kitchen utensils for the move. You wouldn't think something as simple as a stainless steel fork can make your day! And then a friendly phone call this afternoon with word that our dinner had been prepared and would be delivered later that afternoon. How warmly welcomed we have been to our new home!
As I awoke this morning, just a hint of fear gripped my heart as I thought, I hope the movers actually show up with our stuff today. Can't tell you why that random thought roamed through my mind this morning - but there it was -- what if something has happened and all of our things are gone! What if something has happened to our things - we had one previous move where the movers broke the headboard to our bed (we slept on our mattress on the floor for over a week while it was being repaired) and once we were unloaded we found many things that had not survived the move. So, I had reason to fear that our things not arriving safely had some reality to it.
And then I got to thinking further - how much faith it actually takes to load up your whole life in a 40-45 foot moving van, watch them lock the doors and take off, trusting that they'll show up the next day and get you unloaded safe and sound. So, this morning, I felt the rumble of fear, said a prayer asking God to see us through this day with a safe and uneventful move. God is so faithful - but even if things had gone awry, we would still be safe and sound.
As we are on the other side of this day of unloading that was a safe and uneventful process (thanks be to God!), I realize how much like our journey through life is this moving process. It's all about trust! Trusting God means that we place our whole life in his hands, not knowing if tomorrow will bring smooth sailing or rough waters, but knowing that our future as much as our present is all in God's good keeping. Trusting God means that we load up our whole life on that Gospel Train, sure that we will be safe and sound, despite any outward circumstances that would try to convince us otherwise. God is with us through every leg of the journey....more about that on Sunday!
For now, we're just glad we made it, and look forward to our first Sunday and many, many years of fruitful ministry for God's kingdom with the good people of Christ UMC here in our new home of Erie!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Soon and Very Soon
Tuesday, June 18, 2007
They're everywhere -- boxes upon boxes upon boxes - filled with most of our earthly possessions. In a few days (6 to be exact) the moving van will arrive to load these things on board and carry us to our new home in Erie. We're in the final "throws" of packing - throw it in a box and tape it shut! We're living an "in-between" kind of life these days - in between here and there!
It's beginning to feel a bit strange to say that I'm the pastor of New Virginia UMC in Hermitage, because I'm feeling more and more like the pastor of Christ UMC in Erie. It's an in-between time - in between here and there.
It's strange to go to cupboards and drawers and closets for something only to remember that I've packed what I'm looking for. I'll need to make do or do without - at least for a little while. It's an in-between time -- in between here and there.
But in between here and there is what life is like for us Christ-followers. We live in this world, but not of it -- our home is here on earth and yet we have a home there in heaven -- we live a new, abundant, resurrected life in Christ here, but only in part, the fullness of life yet awaits us. We live in between here and there.
In between here (earth) and there (heaven), we're to be faithful to what God calls us to do - to live a life that exhibits all the marks of a true follower of Christ (Colossians 3, Ephesians 4, Romans 12 - to name a few). One of my favorite authors, Richard Foster, has said it well -- "The point of the Christian life is not to simply get us into heaven, but to get heaven into us!" (Streams of Living Water)
So, for now we're being faithful to what God calls us to do, pack up our lives and make our home in our new mission field - Erie, Pennsylvania, with Christ Church as our home base. Soon and very soon we will be there - in Erie, and for now, we're living in between here and there - trusting God the whole way!
They're everywhere -- boxes upon boxes upon boxes - filled with most of our earthly possessions. In a few days (6 to be exact) the moving van will arrive to load these things on board and carry us to our new home in Erie. We're in the final "throws" of packing - throw it in a box and tape it shut! We're living an "in-between" kind of life these days - in between here and there!
It's beginning to feel a bit strange to say that I'm the pastor of New Virginia UMC in Hermitage, because I'm feeling more and more like the pastor of Christ UMC in Erie. It's an in-between time - in between here and there.
It's strange to go to cupboards and drawers and closets for something only to remember that I've packed what I'm looking for. I'll need to make do or do without - at least for a little while. It's an in-between time -- in between here and there.
But in between here and there is what life is like for us Christ-followers. We live in this world, but not of it -- our home is here on earth and yet we have a home there in heaven -- we live a new, abundant, resurrected life in Christ here, but only in part, the fullness of life yet awaits us. We live in between here and there.
In between here (earth) and there (heaven), we're to be faithful to what God calls us to do - to live a life that exhibits all the marks of a true follower of Christ (Colossians 3, Ephesians 4, Romans 12 - to name a few). One of my favorite authors, Richard Foster, has said it well -- "The point of the Christian life is not to simply get us into heaven, but to get heaven into us!" (Streams of Living Water)
So, for now we're being faithful to what God calls us to do, pack up our lives and make our home in our new mission field - Erie, Pennsylvania, with Christ Church as our home base. Soon and very soon we will be there - in Erie, and for now, we're living in between here and there - trusting God the whole way!
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