"Snow Shut-Down" Brings Constant State of Uncertainty

There he was at 5:00 a.m. plowing out the parking lot across the street.  Faithful, he’s plowing now so people can use the government services building even though the man will have to plow again because the storm is predicted to not stop until evening.

The upper Midwest has been living in “snow shut down” for weeks.  National media shows storms as they move to the East Coast. They report airport delays and difficulties for “commuters.” Well, in small cities most of us don’t “commute.” We simply live and work here.

 And by now, school students aren’t rejoicing in having a “day off.”  They haven’t had a full week of school since the beginning of the 2019 term. They value education and are concerned how far behind their sessions are.

We live in a constant state of uncertainty. To cancel or not cancel.  And will the rescheduled date for our activity be cancelled again? I know, I know, a day snowed in means I have the time to clean closets, but the sneaky depression of snow shut-down does not provide incentive for closet cleaning. 

However,  we are thankful people: for a warm place to live and enough food.  And we are careful and aware of road accidents and heart attacks while shoveling. We worry about and reach out to care for those who don’t know where they will sleep in this snowy cold. 

The CEO of the Health Care Center around the block is also out. He and a few others with four-wheel drives are picking up their staff who can’t make it through the storm. Good Shepherd doesn’t have “snow days.”  They are needed to serve.  Thanks be to God for them.

WHY THERE’S NO NEED FOR A HONEYMOON PERIOD IN MINISTRY: Beyond Valentine's Day

God’s Love goes beyond Valentine’s Day. God’s love is more sustaining than any “honeymoon” period in ministry.   It’s not just about flowers, candy, one short day. God’s love is sustaining and unconditional.   

But that “Honeymoon” advice lingers: “Get as much done as you can right away before the normal life sets in with all the complaints and difficulties of really living together.” They loved your paperwork and were impressed with the interview. And you liked the looks of them. They loved the former pastor and will love you, too. Or, maybe they didn’t, so this will be a better “fit.” If we all put on our best behavior for a while, Valentine’s Day can last for a few months. Ah, beware of the “honeymoon” period in ministry and trust that God’s love endures beyond Valentine’s Day. 

Creation:  Before we came, God had created the congregation.  God is still creating—putting us together. Build on those foundations.  Rather than giving in to the temptation to change things quick before people notice, we need to ask and listen and give Valentine-like thanks to the faithful saints at work through the years. Then, together, we can create with the Creating God.  Oh, there will be suspicions that we are going to rip up everything and plant our new ideas. We can bring fresh ideas without totally ripping out what may simply be slow to grow. Creation involves change, but God didn’t rip things up each month and completely start all over.

Beyond favoring those who might seek our favor with Valentine-like flowers or candy, we need to seek out those less known people, those less appreciated.  We can walk around the neighborhood, and as a congregation build new relationships all over the place among those thought to be “outsiders.” We can give valentines to those who don’t usually receive them. God’s love multiplies.  

Christ: God’s love incarnate is among and between us.  Not that we need to fall in love with each other in Valentine-card ways. We are called to love before we even know each other. We are already the body of Christ, now being joined together, even when old congregational wounds need to be healed by the wounded One, Jesus. This will not be just a one-day celebration of being nice, or until the  liking-each-other period runs down.  Christ’s forgiving, reconciling love, which won’t let us down, even when we let each other down, is the forever kind.  

The Holy Spirit:  When I was called to serve a congregation years ago, I had to remind them I was not the coming Messiah. God had not sent me to “save” them. However, we could expect to be surprised by the Spirit. How would God be growing us? By pruning? By transformation? By numerical growth or some other kind of growth? By listening to each other and hearing everyone’s voice? By reaching out in radical hospitality without fear? (Grafting strangers on to the tree?) By building trust and trying new healthier patterns of making decisions? By really incorporating new people (corpus of Christ), and building more trust?

Happy Valentine’s Day all year long, my beloved sisters and brothers, as we live together in the trustworthy, unconditional love of God.

(based on a conversation with Rev. Christopher deForest)