A WORD FROM THE PASTOR…..As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:1)
Dear Friends in Christ,
I was pumping gas on Saturday morning and I felt like I might get blown to the next county if I didn’t hold on tight to my car! Even though it was still February, the March winds were blowing and as I felt them swirling around me, I smiled. Why? Well I have to admit, March is one of my favorite months, partly because the windy days are a sure sign that things are “stirring and changing”. Soon “freshets” will appear in the fields’ a clear sign that the earth beneath is thawing! Oh, I know it will snow again. We may have another blizzard – or two – or more, but I know they won’t last long, warmer days are on the way, and those first glimpses of new life will expand even further as the fields and hillsides spring to life, once more.
It is, however, very difficult to wait. Especially this year when it seems like we’ve been doing a lot of “waiting” lately as this Covid time of uncertainty and isolation continue. Many of us are still waiting to see family who live too far away for even a quick “drive by” visit. We are waiting to see friends and visit neighbors. Waiting to go to the movies again, or a concert, or out for lunch at a restaurant. We are waiting for a return to more normal work scheduling and an end to the non-stop zoom meetings that keep us tied to the computer at home. We wait for postponed weddings to attend, baby showers, birthday and anniversary celebrations, and family reunions that have been put off while we wait for the “all clear”. We wait to return to church and to attend meetings and fellowship times, face to face. Many of us are waiting and longing for the warm hugs of friends, especially if there has been no physical contact for us during this long time of Covid “waiting”. Most of us are still waiting for our vaccinations and all of us are waiting to find out “what’s next?” as we resign ourselves to adapting and adapting, and adapting yet again…..while we are still waiting to find out what the new normal will be.
This week, with the first signs of spring and the continued demand to wait for the change of the long Covid season, I find myself repeating the words of Psalm 42:1. As the deer pant for water, so my soul (or in some translations, heart) pants for God. Here on the hill in Franklin, I see the deer making their daily journeys to the Ouleout Creek, which runs on the other side of my road. They make the trip twice a day, morning and evening, good weather and bad, warm days and cold, easy walking or carefully picking through snow drifts and across icy patches. They long for water and they need that water to survive. They need it so badly that they can’t “not” go to the stream, they simply must do it. I think the Psalmist must have watched deer search for water in the drier regions of Israel or, perhaps, during a dry season and noticed that they “pant for” and “long for” their water. Without it, they cannot survive. And then the writer relates that longing of the deer for water to his/her own longing for the spiritual water of God, which nurtures and restores new life to the spirit. That shepherd (perhaps David) on the hillside – longs for God while waiting through a “dry spell” for renewal and new life. And so, I am reminded how I, too, long for renewal and the watering of God’s abundant and gracious spirit to restore me during this long Covid “waiting time”. Perhaps we are all feeling that sense of longing for the renewal we know that God will bring to our lives when things “reopen” and “blossom” again. For me, there is comfort in remembering that others have felt the way we feel now during this time of waiting and wondering “what’s next?” From the Psalmist on the hillside and throughout the ages, whenever life was “frozen” before the arrival of “new life at spring”, others have waited and thirsted for God – and God has delivered. So as we wait, we can wait with patience and with the optimism that comes from knowing and believing that God will bring us new life – as the season changes and things are transformed, once again. We don’t know for sure when it will be or how it will “look” but we can believe that as our hearts/souls pant for a new beginning, God hears and answers – at the perfect time!
In the meantime, Happy March! On March 14th, the clocks will “spring forward” bringing brighter longer days. March 20th we mark the first day of Spring and wait and watch as the earth wakes up from its slumber! Our spirits are waking up, too – thirsty after our long time of “waiting”. Remember – God is good and new beginnings are on the way!
In the meantime, stay safe! You remain in my prayers….I love you and I need you to survive!
Peace,
Pastor Betsy
