Last night we held our annual meeting.
This morning I awoke, convinced that this is the start of a new beginning!
How that revitalizes your whole self. When we can look to the future (since the past is gone!) we get a true look at our present. With Jesus, there is a blanket of protection from the past, a present excitement and a future hope.
Good stuff to start, and to end a day!!
A phrase from my youth just popped through my head. As a youth, the lyric line was just a nice phrase from a nice song at a nice time of life.
Now that I’m older, I wonder if we can actually put time in a bottle. What would that be like?
As if we could capture an activity, a feeling, an thought — then pack it, roll it and stuff it. Deep into the bottle. Cork the bottle with a self-sealing stopper. Then place the bottle in the sea of our lives.
One day the bottle arrives on the shore. Sometimes the arrival is prompted by the swirling of thoughts and smells and emotions and people that surround us. Other days, stooping at the shore, the bottle just arrives. Unannounced and unplanned.
We uncork the bottle and peer inside. A flood pours out. Perhaps tears, sometimes anger, often nostalgia. When we try to recork the bottle, we’re never sure the resealing happens.
Another year we see the bottle again — only this time, as we open the bottle, the emotional level is lessened. Or we fear to open the bottle — our previous experience with the bottle inclines us to let it float back out to sea.
I wonder, if we can actually put time in a bottle, what time would it be?
This is the second week we’ve met. I’ve taken a day to “chew my cud” on this one!
There are four of us pastors who are of like mind. In the main points – unity; in the minor points – charity. Yesterday we sat and thought, talked and prayed. We began to see the bigger picture of working in Kindersley and area.
We have been a few years coming together.
Not that we dislike each other. Oh, every once in a while you grate against another – but nothing that was life threatening. Rather, we have just been working — rightly so, in our own kingdoms (that sounds a bit harsh, but . . .). We all admitted we may have made mistakes, and will make mistakes.
But the kingdom of God in this area and around the world is a greater issue than our own kingdoms. We talked about finding the big picture (vision) for this area, and then feeding our local congregation’s visions into that picture. We won’t lose our own congregation’s vision, but we will need to enlarge to be sure we are a part of the bigger vision.
This has to start somewhere. And where better than with leaders!
Let’s see what comes next.
You’d almost think there could be some real passion in this. And perhaps, just perhaps, God will use this to turn our world upside down!!!
The last few days have been rest-full and peace-full. Lots of time to reflect, great speakers to inspire, and food that was filling.
On the way home we popped in to Saskatoon and bought a new car. We’ll pick it up on Saturday. When you have an hour or two to spare, nothing better than visiting a used car salesman!
