Recently, I realized that Mitch Robbins was turning 40 when he nearly lost his life, but found his purpose on a cattle drive in Colorado. Knowing his age struck me hard, when I realized I am Mitch's age; I always thought Mitch was so much older — not my age. Maybe you know Mitch Robbins. He is Billy Crystal's character in the movie, City Slickers. There's an interesting thing that happens when you realize you've become that which you once thought impossible (in this case, old enough to have the midlife crisis, according to Hollywood).
It's a big deal to turn the page in life, or have it turned for you. It's exciting or uncomfortable, terrifying or exhilarating to be in a season of change in life. Perhaps you know what I'm talking about. Maybe it's watching your last child leave the nest or being faced with caring for your declining parent. Maybe the career change is happening or your mind and heart are shifting as you learn about some social reality you didn't quite grasp before. It's hard to be at a place in life where you don't know what the next step should be. Do I even have the strength or courage or excitement for this? I know we are in such a place right now as a parish. A page has surely been turned. There is newness and excitement, there is discomfort and hunger for what was, there are new faces and the absence of old friends.
It's okay for us to ask: "What now? What next?" It's okay for us to say: "I don't know." It's okay for us to feel excitement and discomfort at the same time or to hold worry and gratitude together. It's okay because we can trust both our joy and our vulnerability to God's faithfulness. We cannot know what the coming year will bring for our world, for our nation, for our communities, or our church. But we can trust that unknown future to the one from whom all good comes. God will not let us down because God does not let us alone. We are together and God is with us always. This is something I say a lot and you may think it is too simple to hold our lives. But it is, when believed and trusted with our whole hearts, the one thing, the one thing (as Curly says to Mitch), that makes all the difference.
Nick Myers
