Good morning and Happy Friday!
After a couple weeks away I am looking very forward to being back at MHP and worshipping together this week. Am amazed by how the garden has grown and I hope and pray that you too are enjoying the sun and yes, even the rain.
Last week I was on study leave, on retreat near Lake Huron, a place where I love for the way the horizon dominates the landscape. Whether walking along the lanes between the fields or corn or strolling along the beach, for much of the time the horizon is large and open and I find freedom in that that lifts me beyond myself. Then time to time along the way, there is a dip in the way or a sand dune and suddenly the horizon that seemed miles off is only a few feet away and I am sheltered in a much smaller world. There is something about walking in these places that moves me to reflect on life and living, and that reminds me of God’s presence and purpose in ways that opens me up in hope and sets me free to live and love in better ways.
In our Scriptures this week we are turning to Genesis 28: 10-19 and Jacob’s dream of a ladder connecting heaven and earth. We will talk more about how Jacob ended up in the middle of nowhere on Sunday but for now just know that before that that dream was one in which God’s presence, God’s protection and God’s promise opened Jacob up to a new reality, to new possibilities. When he awoke Jacob wondered out loud, surely God was in this place and I didn’t realize it.
I wonder what those places are in your life where you have felt God’s presence, God’s promise and what that was like. What was going on in your life at that time? How did that experience change you? Do you still seek those moments, those places today?
As you meditate on that you might also want to take a look at the Psalm 139 for Sunday. It reminds us that there is nowhere we go that God will not find us. Nowhere we can go where the love and promises of God are not at work for us.
Looking forward to seeing you Sunday.
Grace and Peace
Karen