A Year

 

Almost 525,600 minutes since March 15, 2020, when we closed our buildings for in-person worship and other gatherings. The song “Seasons of Love” from the stage musical Rent asks, “How do you measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee, in inches, in miles, in strife …”

How about you? How would you measure this year? In anxiety, protests, elections, confusion, illness, masks, an absence of hugs, dusty unused classrooms, Zoom meetings, financial hardships, businesses saying, “Closed”?

The song goes on to say about how to measure a year, “How about love? How about love? Measure in love …” In Philippians 3:13, the Apostle Paul says, “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on …”

I don’t want to forget all that has gone on this last year. Some things need to be put behind us. Others, though, have been great chances to learn, to open our minds and hearts to new ways of thinking and doing, and to be grateful for all the ways people have inspired and led us. And to be thankful that God has brought us this far and continues to be with us.

Yet I find daily that people are fussing and complaining about the oddest things. Like wearing masks, or how long or short recorded worship is, or the angle at which the sermon was recorded, or why can’t we all just come back to in-person worship right now?

How about love? Signs of hope continue to pop up all around us, after pressing on through this difficult year. How about the ways that love has been shown to you this year? How about ways you’ve been able to do that for others? Sometimes I think we think that deciding to show love and gratitude is being weak or unrealistic or something. But it isn’t. Those are the main things, the Jesus-things. Sometimes showing love is the hardest thing of all, and the most important. And it is what has brought us this far and will lead us into a joyous future.

Blessings,
Sharon

This Sunday, March 14:

• Come at 9 a.m. to the south parking lot for drive-in worship. Pastors and musicians will be live; you tune in on your FM radio to 103.1 and participate in worship. Drive-in worship only this Sunday and next, March 21.
• Recorded worship continues as usual at 9:45 a.m. with the focus on Philippians 3:7-16, “Pressing On.”
• Join me at 11 a.m. for “Coffee with the Pastor” for conversation and information. Coffee will be held this Sunday and next, March 21.