October 2006

The dance between remembering and moving on sometimes feels more like stumbling about, doesn’t it? Isaiah 43:16-19 tells the exiles to remember the past struggles and salvation of God, if only briefly, but only in order to lay it all aside, forget it and imagine and begin to take part in the new thing that God is about to do. I struggle with sometimes wanting to tell people, “I hear you and what you are carrying about; I truly sympathize, it matters to me, and we should deal with it. But don’t you want to rise out of all that, now, and do something constructive, artful, missional?” In pastoral care and even leadership, I struggle with how much time to spend on others’ baggage, and when to say, “Okay, it’s time to rise up, pick up your mat and walk.” That is the idea of constant renewal: the goal of remembering is to be able to move forward. What can keep us from getting stuck?

This morning, I started by watching cartoons with my son. While his mother was teaching a class on Daniel, we played horsey all around the building, played on the swing and slides in the play yard. After that, he went home with Mommy. I met with a few colleagues for lunch, mutual support and idea sharing for upcoming Sunday messages. After that, I started going through my growing box of important stuff to do or file, wrote several important letters, and emails, & answered several phone calls. What a gorgeous day throughout, full of peace even through a few tantrums from one source or another. I realize now that I “checked in” with God this morning, and–although I went on with my day–God never ended the call. God certainly has a lot to say!