Sometimes, life stinks.
I must confess something to you all: Christmas is always a challenging season for me. It is so busy at church and home that many years it goes by so quickly that I feel like I blink and it’s over. For some reason, though, 2017 felt like things had changed regarding the holidays. The advent season started very differently. I found myself really looking forward to Christmas, there was a spring in my step, and a much more positive attitude. I was trying to be more “present” in each part of the season.
And then this week, two people passed away. One of them was a friend from school days, Michael, who was very supportive and helpful when I was having a difficult time a few years ago. The other was David Shue, a member of our congregation, who in just two years, made his presence very known and felt to all of us. Michael and David passed away within a day of each other.
And yet, advent marches on. Life goes on. Sermons need to be written, prayers must be offered, and the sick, infirmed and shut in must be tended to. We must care for our families. We must still answer those obligations and responsibilities that rest on our shoulders. We must still prepare for Christmas.
We must also still seek God. When the unexpected happens, we sometimes want to shake our fist at the sky and tell God what’s what. I imagine when we do that, God laughs to himself at our arrogance.
But we don’t know. Even when we do know that a loved one has died before we were ready, or circumstances are far from ideal, we must trust that God is still in control. We may live life with unanswered questions, but we must still live. Psalm 90 is a wonderful psalm for any of us to read when we need to gain perspective, and in verse 14 we find these encouraging words:
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
May all of us be glad all our days in the remainder of this advent season, and always.
Blessings,
Pastor John
