Hi everyone,
Happy Thanksgiving! It’s hard to believe that it’s the second week of October and it is just so warm out there. I read that the temperature today is tied for the warmest October 9th we’ve had in recorded history. I’m not sure how this really works, but it seems like the warm weather has also kept the browning of the leaves at bay, as if I remember from years past, we are usually knee deep in dead leaves by now.
But it’ll come, I’m sure of it. That is just how nature works. No matter how much we want the green to stay, the leaves will change. No matter how much we enjoy the warm weather, the temperature keeps dropping. No matter how much we like things the way they are or were, change is inevitable.
So we can either complain about it or roll with it. Since we can’t stop it, I prefer to go with the latter as I think we’re just happier that way.
Here are the readings for next week:
Genesis 32:22-31
Psalm 121
2 Timothy 3:14–4:5
Luke 18:1-8
So all this talk about change relates to these texts I think, at least the first lesson and the gospel. We see how persistence can get us what we want, improve the situation for ourselves, and change even God’s mind. At least, that what it seems like.
But it it doesn’t really sound right, does it? To change God’s mind? Shouldn’t it be God who changes our mind?
And that’s the thing, that’s what I think is actually happening here, regardless of what the stories sound like. I say this because I’ve been really persistent in my prayers in the past, but rarely do I end up with what I want. I couldn’t change God’s mind. But what I found is that my persistence changed my mind.
No matter how set I am on something, the more I prayed and pleaded and pushed for it, the more I began to see how my ways aren’t always the best, but instead they begin to change and morph as I see more what God is doing in the world.
So you see, prayer isn’t about changing God’s mind to suit our agendas, but prayer is to help our minds to change to be more in line with God’s agenda. This agenda of grace and mercy and love for all people is something that we can get behind, believe in, and lift up in prayer, in our communities, and in who we are as people of God.
As the colours on the leaves change in this season, may we also be open to change in our interpretations and paradigms, not just for the sake of change but for the good of all people through the grace of God.
Thanks be to God! I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a wonderful week!
Photo by Joseph Gonzalez on Unsplash