In the In-Between Again
by Rev. Lynn Bartlow, Lead Pastor
Summer has officially begun here in Arizona. Memorial Day is behind us, school is out in our area, temperatures have hit triple digits. It’s summer. To be honest, I’m already finding myself making plans for fall. I’m anticipating school’s return and cooler weather and what we will do in worship in the next season. I admit it— I’m the audience that Jesus was talking to when he said, “Do not worry about tomorrow.” I am! I look for tomorrow, sometimes not paying attention to the today.
It’s so easy, isn’t it? It’s easy to look ahead and not experience what today is bringing. With Pastor Kevin’s move this summer, I’m finding that I’m not the only one with this tendency. We want to receive Pastor Tu’ulauena well, and we look ahead. We just want him to arrive already, and so we look ahead.
All of this is a reminder that we are living in another summer of transition. We are living in a liminal season. Yes, I’ve talked about it before, but we are back there again! We live in the church version of an airport: nobody’s destination IS the airport. It’s a place where we move through to get somewhere. We are living in that in-between, when Pastor Kevin is moving and Pastor Tu’ulauena is moving. We are in that in-between when it’s easy to worry over all that we don’t know and question our tomorrows. We are in that time where change is happening, we can see it, but we aren’t living it yet. It’s a liminal season.
In this season, we need to be careful not to let the unknown paralyze us. We may be in a metaphoric airport, but we are still in this world and in this church. We don’t stop what we are called to do. We continue to be faithful.
Friends, don’t worry about tomorrow. Plan for it. Anticipate it. But PARTICIPATE in your todays. God calls us to be faithful with every hour we have, knowing that tomorrow will take care of itself.
See you Sunday, as we focus on Jeremiah’s Sadness, say farewell to Pastor Kevin, and celebrate a fabulous VBS.
See you soon,
Pastor Lynn