Back in May I had this awesome idea: we can't cover both the Old Testament and the New Testament passages during church, so I'll write a blog about the Old Testament stuff. It was going to be amazing, brilliant, and so forth. And I wrote a couple of them.
Then, well, you know. I know you've all been there. Life happens. "The best laid plans of mice and men." Or women. Or anyone.
So I've learned that summers as a pastor are different than what I expected. You all are on vacations a lot - which is great. I am out of town more than I had realized - also great. The blog writing got put on the end of the to-do list - other things just had to take priority.
After a while, I gave it up. To be honest, the past few weeks, I haven't even read the Old Testament passages before Sunday mornings. It's been a nice surprise each week when the Scripture reader comes to the microphone - what are we going to hear today? Like opening a little present each week.
Our God is a God of paradox and contrast. One way that we see that is in the interplay of change and stability in our lives and in the world. Some things never change - the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west. Gravity always works. My dog Henry always eats fuzz. And other things are constantly changing - the sun always rises and sets, but the seasons change, day turns to night. Gravity always works, but sometimes we find forces bigger than gravity, letting us explore Mars remotely. Henry always eats fuzz, but someday Henry will die (okay, that one turned out sadder than I had expected).
The point is, one of our challenges as humans, made in the image of God, is to learn to balance the change and stability. To follow through on things like writing blogs, and yet to move on when it is time for something new. To hold on to people we love, to traditions, to things we have learned - and also to be open to loving new people, to try new traditions, to learn new things. It's a tough balance.
As my life has changed since May, I know that right now, I can't commit to writing a blog post every week. But I'll get one up now and then. God be with all of us as we balance change and stability.
