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Beloved in the Lord, As we come to the "Merry Month of May" I am thinking about sunshine, flowers and pleasant spring days, and wondering if they are ever really going to get here. Somehow I think this is a parable of our human lives a lot of the time. We always seem to be looking ahead and hoping for something better. The problem is that when something better gets here we will already be looking forward to some other better event. When we were young we looked forward to when we could go to school. Once in school we looked forward to getting out of school. As young adults we look forward to getting a better job, our own home, and more. Later on we look forward to promotions and advancements and hope for financial security. Still later we look forward to retirement and having more discretionary time. None of these things is bad, and it is a good thing to have hope, but our hopes and dreams of a different future can rob us of what we have right now. The child dreaming of being big enough to go to school is not aware of the freedom it has now. The person in school dreaming of getting out is not aware of the opportunities and the joys of friendships they currently have. Young adults dreaming of their own home don't recognize the freedom of responsibilities they have. So it is whenever we focus only on future hopes and dreams. In thinking about sunshine and flowers to come I may ignore the little blue flowers in my yard right now and not enjoy them before they become weedy plants that I will need to hack down. Our Lord Jesus tells us, "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today." (Matthew 6:34) Jesus calls us to trust in God. We all want to trust in God, but we also believe "God helps those who help themselves." That is not Scripture, but Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanac. Really trusting in God may be the most radical thing we can do. It changes how we think about what we have right now. It changes what we think about what is happening right now. It is also deeply freeing. I invite you now to trust in God. The sunny days will come when God sends them. Changes in our life will happen when God sends them. For now we can relax and enjoy because we know God is in charge. In Christ's love, The Reverend John L. Duncan |
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May 2006 |
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Issue 195 |
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St. Philip the Apostle |
