Dear Church,
How have you been? How have you been doing mentally, spiritually, and physically this week with all the freezing weather? If you are not accustomed to staying at home all day and night and feel stuck, this week has probably been a challenge. What do you do with all this time? For some of us, we were able to work from home without interruptions. For many, the time at home allowed us to catch up on tasks and spend time with family. For others, the weather was an inconvenience and disruption to our routine. Furthermore, it may have meant a loss of income. However ways we dealt with nature, I pray we were better prepared this time around. I pray that our time at home allows us to spend more time with God and study and meditate on God’s holy Word.
I was backing out of my garage a few days ago to go somewhere. My car didn’t feel right, so I pulled it back inside the garage. It was around 25 degrees. I was in my 23-year-old car and my preferred ride. I absolutely love that car. We have history together for the past 21 years. We’ve seen our best and worst days. Two years ago, when we had the icemageddon, we plowed through it. The car has a snow-eject feature, a powerful engine, and great wheels on snow and ice. Since that frightful Valentine’s week in 2021, when it stayed below freezing for a week, and we endured without electricity and water in central Texas, I planned for the future. I needed another car to handle the subsequent ice storms better. Thus, that summer, I invested in a four-wheel drive car that could take me through the next couple of decades of ice storms. That future is here, and my four-wheel drive SUV faired well on the roads these past few days, and I am grateful I made the switch. Unfortunately, for my friends in central Texas, in both Williamson and Travis counties, many are still without power. Some had made plans with a generator, others not so much.
I share this story to say that it is, in many ways, the same as the Church. We may have a favorite and preferred way of doing things. We prefer to stick to the way we’ve always done it. It has carried us through the years. We have an emotional attachment to it and don’t want change. But if the way we’ve always done it is not reaching new people for Christ, and it’s not furthering the kingdom of God, then perhaps we need to make a switch. Continuing to ride the same vehicle will only take us so far. There is a season for everything. All things have a shelf life. When we have a vision of where we want to go, we need to switch to updated, modern, and sturdier vehicles for the changing seasons and journey. Frankly, in this Texas weather with thunder, ice, sleet, snow, and freezing rain, the only thing we need to be sliding into on the road is Jesus, who is up ahead, calling us to come to him.
See you Sunday!
a journey in existence 