Pastors E-Letter 1/22/21
Twelve days! In twelve days, my wife’s and my second daughter will be born. In twelve days, we will cease to be a family of three and instead become a family of four. In twelve days, my oldest daughter will go from being an only child and the only grandchild in our family to being “big sister” (how our two-year-old handles this transition…that will be a different story!). In twelve days, our sleep patterns will become drastically different, or possibly non-existent, as we welcome this little girl into our lives. But, luckily, we have been preparing for all of these changes!
Over the past few weeks my wife and I have been pulling down all of the bottles, diapers, clothes, bibs, etc. that we had stored away once our oldest had outgrown them. While this has been a monumental task trying to find and organize everything, it has also been a joy. Sarah and I have actually enjoyed going through all of the stuff that had been packed away. The clothes especially brought back some great memories. “Wow! Remember when she could fit into this?” or “Aw, this is so cute! Remember when she wore this at her first Christmas?”. As we went through the boxes and boxes of stuff, we were reminiscent of all the good times that we had as a little family. But this also comes with a twinge of sadness, knowing that our oldest will never be that small again and that she is growing up (and quickly!). We also were sad because we know that some of the things that we were able to do with our oldest won’t happen because of COVID-19. While we will still be able to make memories as a family of four, it will be a little different. But we still have those memories, the memories of both the good times and the challenging times.
This week in worship we are continuing our series “The Healing Practice of Celebration” as we talk about healing through memories. Our memories are a powerful thing and can be a tool for us to heal. Not just by remembering the beautiful or painful events in our lives, but also remembering that God loves us, and God is still present with us. We use memory as a healing tool to look back in our lives and realize that God is, and has always been, with us even in the difficult moments of our lives. So, join us this week in worship as we look back and we celebrate. Celebrate the good, honor the challenges, and look forward to how God will continue to be present in our lives.
Grace and peace,
Mike Mayes
PS – Twelve more days!