The calendars are filling up, classes are beginning, programs are starting up, and the pace of it all makes the slower days of summer seem like a distant memory. Take a look below in this newsletter, and you'll see what I mean! We have wonderful new offerings beginning this month, and the program year at Epiphany is here. It's a gift and a blessing. And, let me encourage you to remember—remember the slower days of summer.
I'll remember the number of times our boys said, "I'm bored." My particular favorite being when we were standing in line to go up the Eiffel Tower in Paris (yes, seriously, even there, "I'm bored" made an appearance). It maybe wasn't my finest parenting moment, but standing in a long line under the ironworks of that amazing tower, I couldn't help myself: "You're supposed to be! We are waiting in line! Just look up, for crying out loud!"
It's easy for us to be distracted as humans. Distracted by the boredom of apparently nothing (poor Mr. Eiffel). "How did people survive before smartphones?", some wonder. Distracted by the pace of all the things: the news, the practices, work, errands, family commitments, social calendars, church activities, etc. Yes, we can be so busy we miss it all; we can be so idle, we miss it all. We are complicated, aren't we?!
I suppose it's why one of the things about this upcoming Rally Sunday is that we start the program year, the busy-ness, not with a to-do list, but a party and a celebration. We will celebrate the most important thing: God's loving and infinite grace, as we baptize and welcome in four new members into the Body the Christ. We will share a meal, reconnect, jump in the bounce house, enjoy one another's presence, and simply be together. This is not some respite from the real-world, it is the real world God calls us to: there is no to-do list in the kingdom of God that defines our worth or value or belovedness. God is. Love. We are. Loved. Don't get distracted from this. It is everything.
See you Sunday for a great celebration!
Nick
