Hi everyone,
As hot as it is out there right now, I don’t think I can complain about the weather. Sure, it might take longer to get out of the house when I need to slather up three kids with sunscreen and make sure they’re well protected from the sun’s (at times) harmful rays, but at least we can go outside without worry about road conditions, visibility, and being too cold.
And outside we have been.
Because outside is where our kids can explore and be creative. Outside is where our kids can interact with each other and learn to play together. Outside is where it is too bright to see screens clearly, so they have to figure out alternative means of entertainment (that is literally what happens with our kids when they go outside).
Just yesterday I was watching Wesley and Kaylie play in the backyard. They don’t always get along (especially when screens are involved… namely who gets to control what is on the screen), but I watched them play yesterday and it was amazing. They didn’t know what they wanted to do or accomplish, but they just played. Wesley sat on this trike type thing, and he asked Kaylie to push. She of course isn’t strong enough to push anything more than an empty bucket, so she ran beside him and sometimes put her hand on the trike. And around they went in circles, having the time of their lives.
They didn’t need to fully understand each other or really communicate well or even totally like each other. They just wanted to be, to do, and have fun.
And fun they were having. I love summer.
The readings for next week are:
Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
I Corinthians 12:3-13
John 7:37-39
I also love the Pentecost season, as not only does it come in the summer, but the point of the season is to motivate us to act as a church, as a community, and as individuals as we are called to be servants of God. And I know, this is sometimes intimidating stuff. It is intimidating to go out into the world and to live a life different than that which is prescribed by said world. It’s hard to love those who aren’t always loved. It’s difficult to walk the path less trodden because it is… well.. less trodden on.
This Day of Pentecost and the season that follows it reminds us that while the going does get tough, we are blessed by this Spirit that empowers us to keep going. This isn’t to say that we will get everything right and perfect and communicate well and everything is spelled out for us. But it does mean that we have each other (*sniff). It means that we are connected to each other through this Spirit and we learn to work with the support and community found in it. It means that as scared as we may be, the Spirit emboldens us, strengthens us, and reminds us that we can do it because we have what it takes to do so.
It’s ok to be scared. It’s ok to be intimidated. It’s even ok to be frustrated at times. But the Spirit will get us through those feelings and open for us a world of possibility and grace, opportunity and mercy, service and forgiveness.
The Spirit given to us on Pentecost is the Spirit of God, the Word of Christ, the Holy Spirit (hence the name), and this Spirit resides in us, among us, and through us, uniting us together for the work in proclaiming the good news of God’s love for all of us in community. I look forward to spending this Pentecost season with you, and of course the warm weather that summer brings!
Have a great week everyone!