A Word from Wendy: New
Do you like things that are shiny and new? Or do you prefer something that is weathered and worn? Perhaps the answer changes depending on the “thing.”
Perhaps the answer is “yes – both/and – both shiny and new and weathered and worn.”
My mom has always insisted that she wanted to remain in her own home, in the community where she and my dad moved when he retired. A widow for the last 9 years, there was no talking to her about moving some place new, away from her home or even closer to family. She preferred what she knew, though weathered and worn, over the possibility of something new.
Then a friend invited her to tour a new “independent living” community close to where she lives. We were all surprised when she began to consider moving someplace “new” and leaving her home. And then we found ourselves living in the transition which included grief in leaving the old and excitement in anticipating the new.
It is transition, the in between and the both/and, that I’ve been living these last months. Saying farewell to my colleagues and the work we have been about for these last years has included fond memories, celebrating accomplishments, and moments of grief and sadness of what is ending. And, beginning to plan for worship at Sulphur Grove and meeting with leaders to begin learning the ministry of the congregation has been exciting as I consider the “new” that will begin in July.
Perhaps you, too, are experiencing this as a season of transition. Summer is often a time of graduations, retirements, getting ready to go off to school or to a new job. And, yes, in the United Methodist Church, it’s the beginning of a new appointment year; and this year, for Sulphur Grove, that means receiving a new Lead Pastor. You’ve been sharing memories, celebrating ministries, and saying farewell; maybe you’ve even begun to imagine new ministry possibilities.
As I’ve prepared to join you on July 1, I’ve pondered the words passed down from Jeremiah in Lamentations 3: 22-23. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
While often in our mortal life, receiving something new means that something else is let go or comes to an end, yet, in God’s kingdom, love and mercy are both weathered and worn and they are new every morning. God’s grace never ends and we repeatedly receive it anew.
As we begin this journey together, may we know ourselves held in God’s steadfast love and mercy and experience God’s grace anew each and every day.
Blessings, Pastor Wendy
Enjoy photos from my adventures
(Photo credit by Wendy Lybarger)