A Note from the Pastor
Fall is definitely here, the weather is getting cooler and snow is on the way. All very good reasons to be thankful. November is a month that we tend to think about thankfulness. Being thankful for most people is remembering all of the good things that have happened in our lives in the last year. Some people would say that these are our blessings from God, and we should be thankful for them. You may not feel a great thankfulness for the snow as I do, but we should all be able to agree that the water from any snowfall would be a blessing to our land right now. The beauty of a fresh snowfall can also remind us that even in the most difficult times, God gives us reason to be thankful and rejoice.
We start off the month with our celebration of All Saints Sunday. This is a time when we remember those who have finished the race here on earth, and have gone home to the place which God has reserved for them in heaven. November 22 we will have our thanksgiving service. We will remember the blessings that God has given to us. This is also Christ the King Sunday. This is the Last Sunday of the Christian year, the last Sunday before we begin the season of Advent.
I would encourage you, as you look back on this year, that you not only look at the things that have happened that you would call good, but also on those things that have brought change to your life, positive or negative. So often we only look at the positive in our lives and see God’s hand at work. Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Look at the things in your life that you might consider to be negative and see what blessings God is bringing into your life through them.
I look back on this year with all is shutdowns and quarantines, and I see that this has been a time for me to reconnect with a great friend that I have not talked to much before this year because we were both too busy. It has been a time when I have spent more time in studying scriptures and doing Bible Studies. I love to study scripture, but being a pastor at times keeps me too busy, and I have enjoyed getting back to my first love as the scriptures remind us to do.
Do not just thank God for the things you call blessings, see God’s blessings in the things you call struggles!
In Christ’s Service
Pastor Larry