January 2022

Years ago, the entertainer Cher sang the song, “If I could turn back time” referring to hurtful words she said to someone she loved.

If I could turn back time, I would just simply stop the clock. I would call a permanent timeout. My heart beats into my sixth decade this month, and as I write my mind is filled with memories that have come and gone too quickly. It seems like yesterday my girls were excited to hug the Disney characters at Disney World. Soon after that, they were riding tricycles, which advanced to two wheels. Then there was the day they drove off in the motorized van by themselves. I prayed a lot that day, not so much for them but for me.

Sometimes I want to go back in time because then I would know what to expect. The present and future are truly uncertain.

In two months, we will acknowledge the second anniversary of Covid. Sometime In this new year, at some time we will experience disappointment, loss, frustration and our “own world” will be turned upside down. Sometime into this new year, we will experience answered prayers and tears of joy and celebration. Sometime in this new year, your favorite sports team will fail you. Sometime into this new year, the news reports will not only have you shaking your heads at others but in retrospect will have you looking at yourselves. We live in a world that is awesome, beautiful yet complicated, broken and entrenched in sin. We live in a world where we want to understand everything but come up short.

I was driving through the parking lot at Plaza Del Mercado the other day in front of Aldi’s. An individual, focused on her phone, carelessly walked in front of me oblivious to the traffic around her. As followers of Jesus Christ, we live not in the denial of our circumstances and surroundings, but we live in the reality of who we are focused on in our circumstances and surroundings.

Time is of the essence. This present time is all we have now. We can walk with God in the ups and downs of life. We can choose to walk by faith in the One who satisfies the longing of our heart. At one time, this is the same One who we so desperately pushed aside. We can choose in the turmoil and unexpected interruptions, the joy and peace that only the living God can give. In the deepest parts of our heart, we can know the eternal value God has for us.

(Ecclesiates3:1-14)

To a new year of knowing and trusting God,

Pastor Rich