Hello,
To all of those who ventured south to escape the cold winter…nah,
nah, nah, nah, nah, nah (said with appropriate 2nd grade
intonation!). We almost hit 80 degrees
here in Western Pennsylvania last week, and after a cooler weekend, the
forecast for the near future is continued warmth. It was wonderful to sit out on our deck in
February in short sleeves and watch the sun go down.
We, humans, however aren’t the only thing that is enjoying
the warm weather. Our bulbs have begun
to produce their shoots, and our fruit trees have begun to prepare to bud. Both of which will be hearing that second
grade teasing taunt by the snow and wind when the winter decides to strike
again. And when that happens there is a
lesson to be learned from the plants…..its a wise thing not to put your winter
coat away.
Myself, I have learned this lesson. I am grateful for the unseasonably warm times
in life and try and soak up the most of the warmth during those days…when
health is good, when finances are stable, when family is functioning well, when
there is relative peace in the world. I
have great memories of being excited about the adventure ahead in life as my
wife and I drove off to hour honeymoon, and playing hot-box with my kids when
they were young. But the weather always
turns. Dark clouds and chilly winds have
rolled into life, sometimes with increasing aggression. And when that has happened, I have not found
myself unpreparedly shocked, shivering like the plants asking, “How could have
this happened?”, or “Why me?”. No, I gone
and put my coat on, my coat that I have been thankfully wise enough to not have
put away.
I wrap myself in my coat, my Christian faith. Faith that when the wind is blowing so hard
that I can barely stand up is a thickly woven garment of grace that promises, “My
grace is sufficient for you.” Faith that
when I am losing the battle to generate enough warmth by shivering, God
blankets me in his powerful love woven with his word, “Be still and know that I
am God.” Faith that when I have fallen
on the ice, my bum and pride severely bruised, pillows me with soft
forgiveness. Faith that when life
becomes a blinding blizzard, I am wrapped in the compassionate care of the one
to whom I have cried out, “I believe, help my unbelief.”
Of course, faith is far more than just a blanket from the
cold and harsh world, but the blanketing nature of God’s grace is certainly a
very important part of the Christian faith.
Life can be a tundra at times, a tundra with the chill that no human garb
can insulate. Because of that, I don’t
put my faith away. I keep it handy. That is one of the reasons that I go to
church every week. To keep my faith
close at hand. To keep my faith well
prepared for the cold. To keep my faith
ever suited to deal with the chilling world that will certainly swirl my way.
Who knows what the weather will be like this Sunday…warm or
cold, but if the bulbs and the buds could give you and me advice from a lesson
learned the hard way, I think they would say of this coming Sunday ( and every
coming Sunday), “Don’t put your coat (faith) away.”
Have a great week…see you Sunday!
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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