October Pastoral Letter
Dear Friends,
October is one of my favorite months of the year. It is the month Brian and I got married, thirty years ago this year! I enjoy the comfortable weather and the beautiful color of the leaves. And I love pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin anything!
But, as I turned the calendar, I realized that I don’t have as much skip in my step as usual. It’s October, the beautiful fall season, yes, but it seems as if the pandemic continues to cast a shadow on it. In fact, I have described it as if a pall has covered over everything. When I am down, feeling stuck in my tracks, I try to remember to do as the psalmist does, “I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” And so it does. In my devotional prayer time one day this week, I read something that spoke a powerful word that lifted the pall and shone light into the shadows. In Whispers in the Wilderness, Erik Stensland wrote what he called “Momentarily Malleable:”
On the western end of Rocky Mountain national Park is a portion of the Never Summer Mountains that was formed through volcanic activity. It is thought Mount Richthofen is actually the remnant of an ancient volcano. It’s easy to picture that when you see it today.
As I thought about these seemingly unchanging mountains I realized there was a period in their history where instead of being solid and stable they were actually fluid and changeable. There was no certainty as to what their current shape would be. The intense heat deep below the surface of the earth melted the rock, which could then become almost any shape imaginable.
For most of our time on this planet, we can do little to change who we are. Try as we might, we tend to stay the same. However, in those times of intense crisis, those times we all wish would never come, that hardness deep within us softens. Although we may not realize it, in the midst of a crisis we become momentarily malleable. Our responses in the heat shape us more than any other time in our lives. If we give in to anger and bitterness, they will define much of our life from this point forward. Alternatively, if in the pain we turn toward acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude, or humility, these often become defining characteristics of the next phase of our life. Perhaps these excruciating crises give us a momentary opportunity to choose our own unique shape.
As I look at the fall trees, I notice all of the different colors and shapes of the leaves. And I realize that what Stensland says is true--we too are momentarily malleable. We can choose our own shape and color. And that’s what I am going to do this month. When I am tempted to turn to anger, I am going to choose to accept. When I am tempted to turn to bitterness, I am going to choose gratitude. When I am tempted to be covered in the pall of pandemic, I am going to choose to look for the light. I am not going to wait until everything is back to normal to have a pumpkin latte (or two!). Each and every day of October, I am going to look at the beauty all around me and and give praise to God in whom I live and move and have my being and give thanks to God from whom all blessings flow.
How about you?
Faithfully yours on the journey of faith,
Pastor Donna