December 21, 2022 Weekly Update
Today is the first day of winter, and it sure did arrive with a bang! I hope you are staying as warm and safe as possible and checking on your neighbors and friends as time and conditions allow. Next week should feel like a heat wave compared to the next few days!
Speaking of winter, this season always brings questions of uncertainty and disruption. Will my travel plans need to change? Will my health hold up? Will I be able to see my family and friends as often? With uncertainty comes questioning, anxiety, doubt, and a sense that we aren’t in as much control as we’d like. Last Sunday, we talked about Joseph’s uncertainty as he awoke from a dream in which the angel told him how his life was going to take a turn. Did he run? No, he trusted God’s unfolding activity and leaned into the future. If you feel uncertainty in these days ahead, I invite you to join me in praying this prayer.
Faithful God, you call us not to relationship based on certainty, but to a trust-filled relationship with you – Creator, Son, and Holy Spirit. As this Advent turns to Christmas, may we witness the vulnerability you willingly took on as the infant Jesus to show us the extent of your love. In our periods of questioning and uncertainty, help us to trust you more. Amen.*
Blessings,
Pastor Jared
*Prayer borrowed from umcdiscipleship.org