Dear Saints of Trinity,
As we continue to reflect on the prayer we are saying about the transition we are in, the last phrase I wanted to reflect upon was “confidence in your timing.”
What a potent phrase for us to look at more deeply. It conjures up, for me, countless conversations I have had with folks throughout the years around anxiety during times of change, conflict, loss, and, well, life.
This part of the prayer names something a bit uncomfortable for some of us.
It can be very difficult for those of us, who have felt like we are very much in the driver’s seat of the future or, conversely, those who have felt like we are in the passenger seat of future realities.
For folks who for most of our lives have felt like we have had a great deal of control in the outcomes contemplating that anyone, let alone a being that we can’t tangibly touch and feel or see in traditional, predictable ways, can be very uncomfortable, foreign, or even impossible to imagine.
For those who, perhaps, struggle from time to time with having confidence in anything, let alone a loving God who knows all our needs and concerns before we can name them, this can also be a challenge in similar ways.
And with change, naturally, comes grief. Grief has stages; it’s not linear, it’s messy. And we need to name that grief we experience, allow it to do its work within our hearts and community, and let it take as long as it takes. This also includes the grief that comes with changes in leadership.
Beloved, during these coming months, it’s essential for us to focus our hearts on the benefits of the Eucharist. On the provisions God has given us through the community this church provides. Of the healing, comfort, solace, and strength that coming to the rail, week after week, provides.
Having “confidence in God’s timing” is not a throwaway line that we should dismiss, but a call to prayer, service, and routine, the types of structure that buoy us and allow us to create space for what God is inviting us into next.
If you desire to meet with me to process all these changes this time is thrusting upon us, or changes in your own life that maybe you’re just wondering where God is in it, where this timing might actually be, please be in touch to set up a time with me.
As we turn our calendars toward the fall, you will see notices in these editions of The Window, many opportunities to pray, serve, and gather:
- Families gathering to eat, fellowship, and build community with others in similar life stages;
- Book groups for theological conversations with others on this God-life journey with us;
- Gatherings to reacquaint us with each other after a beautiful summer of travel, rest, and recreation.
- Chances to put this faith into action through Outreach efforts.
Take note of these offerings and participate as you are able. I take comfort that this faith community is held in God’s loving embrace through all the change, and that we can be confident that what comes next is in her timing.
In peace,
Jodi+