Each year as summer begins to give way to fall and the days get shorter, I can’t help but have a mix of emotions. Just over the horizon of the year stands the busy fall. The beginning of school, the kick off of fall ministries, fall sports and many more things are looming. Today I sit and wonder why it is that this is the image of the future I hold. Should the future be a burden? Perhaps personal and corporate history says yes, but it doesn’t have to be so.
Looking to the future with dread is not a healthy or faithful response to the world. Our God has promised good to us and we should hold that hope out in front of us not as a reward for suffering but a current reality. Far too often we use the “pie in the sky” as a motivation rather than reveling in the goodness God has provided around us.
As you begin to look forward to what the fall holds, I pray that you will be blessed with a deep and abiding knowledge that God is present in your life. I offer these questions as way to help you discern God’s presence in your life.
- In what events or experiences have you felt God’s presence in your life this summer?
- What are you most looking forward to this fall?
- How can you open your heart to God’s presence?
- Are there things in your life that are not spiritual blessings but instead spiritual drains? Can these things be eliminated?
- How can the spiritual community of the Church help you find ways to celebrate the blessings in your life today?
I pray that God will help you to find blessings in your life. I also invite you into conversation about how the church and I can help you grow in discipleship.
Holy God, as we transition from summer to fall, we seek your guiding spirit in our midst. Help us to recognize your blessings in the midst of the chaos of our lives. In our recognition of blessings, may we find strength and hope. Finally Lord, guide us to make our lives conform to your will and help us to make decisions about our time with your loving Spirit. AMEN