Skip to main content

It's Perfectly Acceptable

Today began like any other day. 

My alarm clock sounded and I hit snooze, twice. 

Out of bed, dog out, breakfast made, coffee perking.

In the back of my mind I know today is different than I thought it would be 9 months ago. 

Today I should be boarding an airplane bound for Atlanta.

I am not boarding an air plane, I am not headed to Atlanta. 

Today I should be officially beginning my in person classes for Spiritual Direction Certification. 

I am not meeting in person rather I am obsessively checking the zoom time so I don't miss it because of the time difference. 

Today began like any other day, but today is different. 

In one way or another we have all gone through significant changes since 2020 began.

In one way or another our lives are different now than we thought they would be 9 months ago.

It's perfectly acceptable to lament if things that were supposed to happen didn't, or didn't happen how you imagined.

It's perfectly acceptable to rejoice if good things have happened in ways you didn't imagine they could.

It's perfectly acceptable to be where you are and show those emotions, whatever they are, to others in your life.

I might not be getting on a plane, I might not be spending the week in Atlanta, but my journey toward spiritual direction certification is continuing on. This is one more twist in the road I've already been on. This is one more day to listen for God in the midst of the new and different.

Today began like any other day, find space to live out God's promise to you. The promise that whether you are in the darkest of valleys, on the highest of mountains, or somewhere on the road in between God's love surrounds you, Christ's peace enfolds, and the Holy Spirit guides your way. 

It's perfectly acceptable to be where you are, lamenting or rejoicing, heart full of hope or overtaken with sorrow. It's perfectly acceptable to begin today, just like any other day knowing that where you are God is there too.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Changing of the Seasons

"I don't like this cold..." SERIOUSLY not even two weeks ago some of the same people who are saying this were more recently saying "I can't stand this heat, I wish it was cooler." You got your wish, quit complaining!  Why is it we are never happy in the moment? It is too hot, too cold, too boring, too silly, too dry, too wet, too overwhelming, not overwhelming enough...the list continues. As I sit in my office this afternoon, reflecting on the past few week's events (funerals, Sunday school starting, children and youth activities starting, countless meetings, and moments(very few moments) of silence) I hear in the back of my mind a voice not my own reciting the beginning of Ecclesiastes 3     1  For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:  2  a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;  3  a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to buil
2 comments
Read more

Is This Love?

I don't follow politics as much as I should... but I have been following, entirely second hand, what happened in North Carolina and President Obama’s statement supporting same-sex marriage and I wonder…how did we get here? I am in the midst of working on my sermon for Sunday and I don’t know where to go because I don’t know how we got here. Maybe you are asking “where is here?” Here May 11, 2012 in a society that feels like total anarchy. 236 years ago (give or take) some people who were feeling oppressed and alienated sought to make a better life where it would be understood that ALL were created equal. Of course that first claim came with underlying unspoken exceptions- ALL were created equal- except women, children, people of different skin tone, and more recently people who define and qualify love differently than others. I admittedly do not know much more than I did as a senior in high school about politics. Political Science was a classed I HAD to take in order to gra
2 comments
Read more

Almost Back to Reality

In this final few days of sabbatical as I begin to re-enter “the real world”, I want to thank each of you who have prayed for and with me over these almost 60 days. I have spent time over these past two months reflecting on eleven years of ministry and know that God continues to call me to this extraordinarily beautiful life with all of the highs and lows of working with, living with, and loving Gods people. I am looking forward to these last few days however my heart and soul are ready to be back with the wonderful people of First Christian Church and Oskaloosa! See you very soon. Week Nine Hope for the week:  I hope the people I have been away from are as excited to see me as I am to see them! Is there an Answer (last week’s question): How many pages will I write for my devotion/resource? It is hard to say how many pages have been written, however I made progress in outline, structure, and worship ideas. Question of the Week:    How much $$ will it take to restock my emp
2 comments
Read more