Warning: Intense Heat
Stepping back in to ministry has been interesting. As I said, both at the Wednesday night Welcome Fiesta and on Sunday morning, both Lisa and I were ready for reentry. Our sabbatical was good and necessary, but we still feel very much called to the work here and attached to you all as friends and we were ready to get back. But like with any transition from rest to work there are challenges.
Some of you remember the 2003 tragedy that befell the space shuttle Columbia. Due to an accident that occurred during takeoff, the left wing of the shuttle sustained damage that ultimately compromised both the thermal suppression system and exposed the vehicle to the intense heat generated by reentering earth’s atmosphere resulting in the loss of all seven souls aboard. It was a tragedy in the moment as viewers watched on helplessly and doubly tragic in hindsight as there may have been steps to take in avoiding the disaster.
As indicated above, we face the heat of reentry in one degree or another throughout our lives as we transition from times of rest to work or more metaphorically, as we move from the mountaintop experiences of life back down into the valley. How do we navigate in such a way that we are not consumed by the intense heat? The prophet Jeremiah, in a teaching similar to Psalm 1 says:
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
(Jeremiah 17:7–8)
For the one who is deeply rooted in the Lord there is neither fear of the reentry heat nor of the opposite extreme, drought. In Psalm 1 the psalmist speaks of delighting in the law of the Lord and meditating on it day and night (Ps. 1:2). This is the route to rest that the psalmist this past Sunday was urging us toward with the invitation to return to our rest (Ps. 116:7). Seeking this life in the Lord is where I find myself as I return to my duties. I am glad to be in a community where we can do this corporately as well as individually.
Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash